


Mischief (Not) Managed: Year One

by E_Violet



Series: Mischief (Not) Managed: A Marauders' Era Series (ON HIATUS) [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Good Slytherins, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Lesbian Marlene McKinnon, M/M, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Period-Typical Homophobia, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 45,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25870216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/E_Violet/pseuds/E_Violet
Summary: Follow the Marauders and their fellow students, friends, and enemies through their first year at Hogwarts. Sirius deals with being sorted into Gryffindor, Remus is hiding his lycanthropy, James is “ruling the school”, and Peter is just happy to tag along. Rated teen and up for occasional strong language.
Relationships: Arthur Weasley/Molly Weasley - mentioned, Frank Longbottom/Original Female Character(s), Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Black Malfoy, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin - mentioned, one-sided James Potter/Lily Evans Potter - Relationship, one-sided Marlene Mckinnon/Original Female Character
Series: Mischief (Not) Managed: A Marauders' Era Series (ON HIATUS) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1909891
Comments: 8
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter One: Surprises, Sorting, and Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the first year of Hogwarts begins for many children, a few things are clear: Lily Evans hates the boys who made fun of Severus, and Sirius Black is proud to be different while Remus Lupin is not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: Paint it Black by The Rolling Stones

November 1st, 1981 

“Just last month,” Remus Lupin began, fiddling with a letter, “I was at their house for dinner. We all were. And now...”

Molly Weasley nodded understandingly. 

“Poor Harry,” Remus said at last. 

“Poor Harry,” Molly echoed. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “We can take him every month at that time.”

“Oh. No, Dumbledore sent him to live with his aunt and uncle.” 

Molly nodded in understanding. “Understood. Well, I believe I speak for everyone when I say I’m sorry we suspected you as the spy.” She adjusted the baby on her hip. “It was prejudiced... to say the least.”

“Thanks. I’m, well I’m used to that by now.” They fell into silence, the only sound being the gurgling of the youngest Weasley child. 

“I... know it would have hurt if anyone was the spy, but with him... it’s so much worse,” Remus said after a moment. Molly again expressed her understanding. 

“Oh, I know,” she said. “You’re taking it very well, all things considered. I can’t imagine how I would cope with it if Arthur was the spy.” She thought for a second. “I might still love him, but...”

“You’d wonder why.” Remus took a breath. “At least that’s how I feel.”

“Well, you can’t be that surprised. He was a Black, after all.” 

Remus sighed. “Oh, Molly,” he said. “If only you knew him before everything.”

July 1971

The sounds of ‘Paint it Black’ by The Rolling Stones filled the streets as Sirius Black walked home. He had been roaming the streets, under the guise of shopping for a “respectable” set of robes. His disowned cousin had helped him shrink a record player down to a portable size, and given him a record of Muggle songs. 

An owl flew overhead with a letter. Sirius jumped up and snatched the letter, which had his name on it. Hogwarts. 

He ran into the house. “I got my letter!” he screamed. Walburga Black, his hauntingly beautiful mother, scoffed. 

“Good,” she grumbled. “You’re a wizard.” 

“Of course I’m a wizard.” Sirius grinned innocently. “I set your hair on fire after you tried to get me to stop talking to the Muggle girl down the street last year.” Opening the letter, he continued. “I really don’t understand what’s so bad about Muggles. They’re really nice, even if they can’t -“ 

With a flick of her wand, Walburga cut him off. Sirius felt a light pain shiver through him. 

“That was a warning,” his mother said. 

“More lines would do well, too,” his father added. Sirius grimaced, looking at his left hand, where the words “I am a pure blood and I am superior” were permanently etched into his skin. 

-

Miles and miles away, in a secluded cottage, young Remus Lupin was resting in bed. 

“Do you need anything?” his mother asked. “Whatever you need, I can get.” 

When he spoke, his voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. “More chocolate, please,” he said. 

“Okay, sweetheart.” Hope Lupin patted his shoulder gently and left the room. 

A few minutes later, she returned with a slab of chocolate. 

“You have a visitor.” She smiled. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you stayed in your pajamas.”

Remus nodded and struggled out of bed. Taking the chocolate, he followed his mother into the sitting room, where an old man with long silver hair and a beard was sitting in one of the chairs. 

“Good day, Mr. Lupin,” the man said. “I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Do you know what that is?” Remus nodded and his heart sunk. He knew he wouldn’t be able to go and learn magic, despite already having cases of accidental magic, but it felt worse that he was being told in person, rather than through a letter. 

“So,” Dumbledore continued, “Fancy a game of Gobstones?” 

“Um, sure, I suppose.” Remus sat down across from the old man. 

After a few rounds, the professor cleared his throat. 

“How would you like to go to Hogwarts, Mr. Lupin?” he asked. 

“M-me?” the young boy stuttered. Dumbledore nodded and smiled. 

“Of course you.”

“But how - I mean, with my condition -“ Dumbledore waved his hand in a silencing gesture. 

“Arrangements can be made,” he said, still smiling. “Once a month, you can go through a passage under a tree we’ve just planted, and there will be a nice little house on the outskirts of Hogsmeade that you can spend the full moons at.”

“Sir, what is Hogsmeade?” 

“Ah.” Dumbledore sighed. “It’s a lovely little wizarding town near Hogwarts. Any more questions?” 

Remus shook his head. “I think I would quite like to go to school,” he said, smiling weakly. 

-

In the Evans household, guards were up and the family was thoroughly confused. 

When the strange woman in robes rang their doorbell and asked to talk to the whole family, Mr. and Mrs. Evans were wondering if either of their children did anything. It was highly unlikely, as Lily and Petunia were both very good kids. Maybe Lily had confused someone with her interesting method of jumping off swings. 

“I am Minerva McGonagall, deputy headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” the strange woman said, extending her hand out for the parents to shake. Mrs. Evans took it gingerly. 

“Would you like some tea?” she asked. McGonagall shook her head. 

“No, thank you. I was also wondering if I could see your daughter Lily?” 

The two parents shot a glance at each other. 

“I’ll get her,” Mr. Evans said, standing up. A few minutes later, he returned with a young girl with red hair. 

“Hello, Miss Lily,” the professor said. 

Lily smiled shyly. 

“Good afternoon,” she said. “Am I in trouble?” 

“Quite the opposite!” The stern features of the woman softened. “You’re a witch.” 

“A - witch?” Mrs. Evans gasped in confusion. Realization dawned on Lily, and she became excited. 

“Is that why I can sometimes do strange things?” she asked. Professor McGonagall nodded. 

“Yes,” she said, handing the young girl a letter. “This is a letter of acceptance to Hogwarts.” 

“Thank you,” Lily said, taking the letter. She eagerly opened it as the family was educated on magic and schooling of those sorts. 

After the professor left, Lily turned to her parents. 

“Can I go?” she asked in a small voice. 

“Of course you can, child,” her father said. “Quite incredible, that magic exists. I’m so glad you get to be a part of it.” 

Petunia came into the room. 

“Can’t I go too?” she asked, uncharacteristically timid. Lily smiled, glad her sister wasn’t calling her a freak. 

“I’ll write to them,” she said excitedly. “Maybe we can both go!” She began to collect the letter, but she paused. “I must go tell Sev. I wonder if he’s gotten his letter yet!” She skipped off, leaving Petunia with her parents. 

“How come she’s special?” she asked, returning to her haughty personality. Her mother put a comforting hand in her shoulder. 

“We don’t know,” she said. “But just because she is going to a special school doesn’t mean you aren’t special too.” 

“It doesn’t seem like it,” Petunia said, a hint of jealousy in her voice. 

“Well,” Mr. Evans began, “You’re special because you are so very organized, and you’re quite a lovely person to be around.” Mrs. Evans nodded. 

“You’re also quite caring, and have the highest regard for rules,” she said. “And maybe your letter hasn’t come yet. Maybe there was a holdup in postage.” 

Petunia nodded, brushing blond hair away from her face. “Okay.” 

-

September 1971 

Lily stood with her sister at Platform Nine and Three Quarters. 

“I’m sorry, Tuney, I’m sorry!” she said, grabbing her sister’s hand. “Listen. Maybe once I’m there - no, listen, Tuney! Maybe once I’m there, I’ll be able to go to Professor Dumbledore and persuade him to change his mind!” 

“I don’t want to go!” Petunia exclaimed, dragging her hand out of Lily’s grasp. “You think I want to go to some stupid castle and learn to be a - a freak?” To some, the sight may have been freakish. Cats were meowing in owners’ arms, and owls were hooting at each other in cages, students milling around, some already in their black robes. 

Lily’s eyes filled with tears as Petunia succeeded in tugging her hand away. 

“I’m not a freak,” she said. “That’s a horrible thing to say.” 

“That’s where you’re going,” Petunia said with relish. “A special school for freaks. You and that Snape boy, weirdos, that’s what you two are. It’s good you’re being separated from normal people. It’s for our safety.” 

Lily glanced toward her parents, who were looking around the platform with an air of wholehearted enjoyment, drinking in the scene. Then she looked back at her sister, and her voice was low and fierce. 

“You didn’t think it was such a freak’s school when you wrote to the headmaster and begged him to take you.” 

Petunia turned scarlet. 

“Beg? I didn’t beg!” 

“I saw his reply. It was very kind.” 

“You shouldn’t have read - that was my private - how could you?” 

Lily glanced at Snape, nearby, and Petunia gasped. 

“That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in my room!”

“No, not sneaking,” Lily began, defensive. “Severus saw the envelope, and he couldn’t believe a Muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that’s all! He says there must be wizards working undercover in the postal service who take care of - “

“Apparently wizards poke their noses everywhere!” Petunia turned pale. “Freak!” she spat at her sister and flounced off to where he parents stood. Lily glanced back at her sadly, and went to say goodbye to her parents. 

A few feet away, James Potter stood with his parents. 

“Write to us, promise?” they asked. James nodded excitedly. 

“Yes!” he said enthusiastically. 

“Have fun!” His mother and father both hugged him once more and he ran onto the train. He found a compartment where a pretty red-haired girl and a dark-haired boy wearing fingerless gloves were sitting in. He sat down in one of the spare seats. Across from them was a round boy with blond hair and a boy who was fast asleep. 

The girl was crying, but the dark-haired boy was quick to make conversation. 

“I’m Sirius,” he said. 

“James.” They shook hands, and James though of a question. “Say, why are you wearing those gloves?” 

Sirius confidently ran a hand through his  
hair. 

“It’s called fashion,” he explained. “I like to get into the Muggle trends.” 

“That’s not Muggle fashion,” the round boy muttered. 

“Oh,” Sirius said, sounding haughty. “How would you know?” The other boy shrugged. 

“My mum’s a half-blood. She likes Muggle things.” 

“Ah.” Sirius nodded, and the kid smiled. 

“I’m Peter, by the way.” James grinned. 

“Nice to meet you, Peter,” he said, holding out his hand. Peter shook it. 

A boy with greasy hair walked in. He was already dressed in his robes. 

“I don’t want to talk to you,” Lily said to him. 

“Why not?” he asked. 

“Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore.”

“So what?”

She threw him a look of deep dislike. 

“So she’s my sister!” 

“She’s only a -“ he caught himself quickly. Lily, too busy trying to wipe her eyes without being noticed, did not hear him. 

“But we’re going!” Severus continued, unable to suppress the exhilaration in his voice. “This is it! We’re off to Hogwarts!”

She nodded, mopping her eyes, but in spite of herself, she half smiled. 

“You’d better be in Slytherin,” he said, encouraged that she had brightened a little. 

“Slytherin?” James asked. “Who wants to be in Slytherin?” He looked at Sirius. “I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?” 

Sirius didn’t smile.

“My whole family have been in Slytherin,” he said. 

“Blimey,” said James, “And I thought you were all right!” 

Sirius grinned. 

“Maybe I’ll break the tradition. Where are you going, if you’ve got the choice?”

James lifted an invisible sword. 

“Gryffindor!”’he exclaimed. “Where the brave dwell at heart! Like my dad.” 

Snape made a small, disparaging noise. James turned on him. 

“Got a problem with that?” 

“No,” Snape sneered, “If you’d rather be brawny than brainy -“

“Where’re you hoping to go, seeing as you’re neither?” Sirius interjected. James roared in laughter, and Lily sat up, rather flushed, and looked at them in dislike. 

“Come on, Severus, let’s find another compartment,” she said. 

James attempted to trip Snape as he passed, and called out, “See ya, Snivellus!” as the compartment door slammed. 

James leaned back and sighed. 

“What?” Sirius asked. 

“That girl,” James said, “If she figures out that Slytherins are no good, I’m going to marry her.” Sirius shoved him. 

“You’re mental.” 

“Nah, mate. Just romantic.” 

“I think she already hates you.” A tired and hoarse voice came from the corner of the compartment. The sleeping boy had evidently woken up. 

“Are we sure, though?” James asked. Peter nodded, giggling. 

“Yeah. She was not happy with the two of you.” 

“You were laughing along, I believe,” Sirius added. He turned to James. “Though, why would you want to be friends with her, if she’s friends with a slimy git like Snivellus?” James shrugged. 

“I don’t know,” he said. He put a hand over his heart dramatically. “I just feel we’re.... connected.” Sirius and Peter laughed and shook their heads. The other boy went back to sleep. 

-

There was a compartment nearly filled to the brim. A girl with blond hair sat next to a slightly older, dark-haired girl who was feeding a toad. Next to her was a pretty black girl in green already, and across from them were two identical redhead boys and a small, scrawny boy.

“There’s not one house that’s good or bad,” the oldest girl was explaining. “I’m in Slytherin, because I’m ambitious, pretty much, and Alice here is in Ravenclaw, meaning she’s a genius.” 

“Tough pick between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor,” the girl with the toad piped up. 

“Gryffindor’s the house of the brave. That’s where the Prewett clones are.” 

“Dorcas!” One of the boys chided. “We’re twins, not clones.”

“Yeah,” the other supplied. “I’m Fideon and he’s Gabian!” 

Dorcas rolled her eyes and spoke to the two younger kids in the compartment. 

“The one on the left is Gideon, the one on the right is Fabian.” 

“I’m Marlene,” the girl mumbled. 

“Jeff,” the boy squeaked. 

The door squealed open, and the lady with the snack trolley poked her head in. “Snacks, anyone?” she asked. Everyone scrambled to get some food. 

-

A while later, the train arrived at Hogwarts. The first years went to the half-giant Hagrid to ride on boats across the lake, while the rest of the students piled onto carriages. 

Professor McGonagall explained the Sorting, and brought out an old tattered hat. When the hat was out on the stool, it began to sing about the respective houses. Finally, the professor got out her notes and started calling names. 

“Austin, Haley!” A rather tall girl with a dark plait walked up to the hat. When McGonagall placed the hat on her head, it took a few seconds before yelling out, “Hufflepuff!” 

“Avery, Maximus” went to Slytherin, and “Azrit, Ryane” went to Hufflepuff. 

“Black, Sirius!” was next. Sirius cautiously walked up to the stool and put the hat on. He almost jumped out of his skin when the hat spoke. 

“Quite a good mind, eh?” it said. “But also the desire to stand out. Quite a brave character, are you? Well, then, you will stand out from your family - GRYFFINDOR!” 

Sirius took off the hat and sprinted over to the table, where a fourth year boy made room for him. A blond girl at the Slytherin table curled her lip as she watched him sit down. 

“Brindlin, Ember” went to Gryffindor also, and “Dreighton, Amelia” joined the Slytherin table. “Ebert, Marshall” walked to the Ravenclaw table after his bout with the hat. 

“Evans, Lily!” Professor McGonagall called out. Lily walked forward on trembling legs and sat down on the rickety stool. McGonagall dropped the Sorting Hat onto her head, and barely a second after it touched the dark red hair, the hat cried, “GRYFFINDOR!” 

Snape let out a tiny groan. Lily took off the hat, handed it back to Professor McGonagall, then hurried toward the cheering Gryffindor, but as she went she glanced back at Snape, and there was a sad little smile on her face. Sirius moved up the bench to make room for her. She took one look at him, recognized him from the train, folded her arms, and firmly turned her back on him. 

“Flowers, Fiona” went to Ravenclaw, and “Freise, Jeffrey” went to Slytherin. “Garrett, Amanda” joined the Ravenclaw table, as well as “Garrett, Tobias”. “Hart, Maya” went to Gryffindor, and “Helene, John” went to Ravenclaw. “Ivy, Letita” joined the Gryffindor table, “Jones, Ivory” and “Koates, Melody” went to Hufflepuff, and “Lewis, Natalia” went to Slytherin. 

“Lupin, Remus!” McGonagall called. She gave him an encouraging smile as he walked up and took the hat. 

“Well, well, well,” the hat said. “A werewolf. That’s not a problem for me; you’re still a wizard. GRYFFINDOR!” 

“Mabe, Ashley” went to Ravenclaw. “Macado, Gemini” was sorted into Hufflepuff. 

“MacDonald, Mary!” 

A round girl with rosy cheeks walked up and sat down. “GRYFFINDOR!” the hat called. 

“McKinnon, Marlene” went to Gryffindor without a second thought. Similarly, the hat barely hit the top of the head of “Mulciber, Anthony” before announcing he was in Slytherin. 

“Pettigrew, Peter!” was called. The plump boy made his way up to the table, nervous. The hat spent a while on his head before eventually deciding on “GRYFFINDOR!” He walked over to the table and sat next to Remus. 

It was unclear whether the hat actually made physical contact with “Potter, James” because the second he sat down and the hat was lowered, it shouted, “GRYFFINDOR!” James ran excitedly to sit with Sirius, who high fived him. 

“Prime, Jenna” was sorted into Ravenclaw, and “Rosenbaulo, Beth” and “Shubert, Jacque” to Slytherin. 

“Snape, Severus” was called. He walked to the stool and placed the hat upon his head. “Slytherin!” it cried. Snape moved off to the other side of the Hall, to where the Slytherins were cheering him, and Lucius Malfoy, a prefect badge gleaming upon his chest, patted him on the back. 

“Strong, Hubert” joined Snape and the Slytherins, as well as “Styers, Zoe”, and then there were three Hufflepuffs in a row: “Tender, Joseph”, “Traque, Eleanor”, and “Tyes, Matthew”.  
“Van Horan, Charles” joined Ravenclaw, followed by “Vendre, Lisa” and “Yuchic, Pendleton” in Hufflepuff. Finally, “Zoroian, Emma” went to Ravenclaw, and the Sorting was finished. 

Professor Dumbledore stood up, wearing royal purple robes. 

“Greetings, everyone,” he said. “And welcome back to another year at Hogwarts. I just have two words for you.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Tuck in.” 

Food appeared on the golden plates, much to the astonishment of the first years. The sounds of conversation and utensils clinking on plates filled the hall. At the Ravenclaw table, Alice Fortescue was stroking her pet toad and laughing with some new first years. 

“There’s always at least one set of twins at Hogwarts,” she said to Amanda and Tobias. “I don’t think the school functions without them.” 

The Ravenclaw twins giggled and returned to eating their food. The Gryffindor twins were having an in-depth discussion on the potentials of potions. 

“Imagine a hair-care potion,” Gideon said to his brother. James, overhearing, joined in. 

“My father invented a hair potion,” he said proudly. 

“Is it to mess up your hair beyond repair?” Fabian asked, sniggering. 

“Well obviously I don’t use it.” James ran a hand through his messy hair, causing it to stick up even more in the back. 

Across the hall, Severus sighed wistfully as he watched Lily having fun in a different house. He’d hoped they would be together, allies like before. 

“Yes,” a cool female voice said from behind him, “Gryffindors are slimeballs.” 

Severus turned around to see a tall blond girl, kneeling next to him, her hair and robes perfect. 

“My... friend’s in Gryffindor,” he said. The girl smirked. 

“So’s my cousin,” she said, smiling evilly. “I can’t wait to Floo call his mummy and tell her the great news. She’ll be THRILLED.” With that, the girl got up and returned to her seat next to Malfoy. 

After the feast, three of the five newest Gryffindor boys were buzzing with energy on the way to the tower. Ember was staring at them with the utmost disapproval. Remus had snuck off, following an order from Madam Pomfrey. 

She led him out of the castle and onto a clearing. 

“This,” she said, pointing at the currently dormant tree in front of them, “Is the Whomping Willow. That’s where you enter, okay?” She smiled encouragingly at the young boy. She calmly instructed the terrified boy to touch a knob at the tree with a long stick, which would cause it to stop thrashing. She showed him the passage to the shack in Hogsmeade where he would spend his transformations. 

“Is this all okay?” she asked. Remus nodded. 

“Y-yes,” he stuttered. “Thank you.” 

-

“Where were you?” 

James was the one who spoke. He was sitting on his bed, along with Sirius and Peter in their beds. Remus figured the closed four-poster was Ember. 

“Oh,” he said casually. “My…mom just wanted to Floo call me. Make sure everything’s all right.” He laughed uncomfortably. Peter nodded. 

“My parents are overprotective too,” he said. 

“My parents are old,” James piped up. “They love me.” 

“My parents hate me,” Sirius added, without emotion. Then he let out a loud laugh, and the other two boys joined in. Remus climbed into his own bed, hoping they wouldn’t ask anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Say hi on tumblr! 
> 
> evitoxytrash
> 
> \- E


	2. Hopping Mad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice's pet toad aids her in making new friends; Remus and Ember avoid the other Gryffindor boys for different reasons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and his Comets (It is not mentioned in the chapter, but I felt it fit the mood.)

“Ugh,” Lily said, grabbing a piece of toast. “Potter and his friends.”

“What’s wrong with them?” Mary asked.

“We haven’t even been here a day and they’re already acting like they own the school.” Lily gestured to James, Sirius and Peter making a grand entrance.

“Tell me about it,” Marlene sighed dramatically. “Potter keeps bragging about his parents’ potion inventions. You’d think the son of the wizard who invented Sleakeezy’s Hair Potion would actually think to use it, but I guess not.” All three girls burst into laughter.

“I’m excited about Transfiguration,” Mary said, once they had calmed down. “I did some reading on the subject last night and - AUGH!” A toad had jumped right into the porridge Mary had been about to eat. Alice came running up, pushing stray locks out of her face.

“Have you guys seen a - oh, there he is!” She picked up the toad from the bowl and started wiping him off.

“Sorry about that,” she continued. “Felix likes to run off sometimes.”

“Is Felix... your toad?” Mary asked, slightly disgusted. Alice nodded energetically.

“Oh, yes,” she said. “I named him after Felix Felicis, so every day with him is my lucky day!” Seeing the looks of confusion from the other girls, she added, “Felix Felicis is the good-luck potion.”

Lily was the first to speak.

“Neat,” she said. “Can I pet him?” Alice nodded and she reached out to touch the amphibian. “I just got an owl,” she continued. “Speaking of which...”

Owls flooded the Great Hall, dropping at various places to deliver letters. Or, in James Potter’s case, a care package.

“Look!” he said to Peter and Sirius. “I got a bunch of chocolate frogs! Of course, I’ll share them with you guys.”

“I haven’t gotten any letters yet,” Peter said, his voice squeaky. “But I did write to my mum last night.”

“I didn’t,” Sirius snorted.

“She’s going to kill you when she finds out you’re in Gryffindor, mate,” James piped up. Sirius grinned.

“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” he said.

Across the Hall, Severus was again sitting sadly at the Slytherin table. Dorcas plopped down next to him.

“Is your friend in a different house?” she asked kindly. He nodded. “Well, my best friend Alice is in Ravenclaw and we still spend time together.” She lowered her voice. “You don’t even have to sit at your house’s table at lunch. Maybe you can hang out then.”

“So what do you have today?” Alice asked, still at the Gryffindor table. Marlene offered her the schedule, which she took.

“All the classes,” she said, handing Marlene her schedule back, “Are fascinating. Though most people don’t like History of Magic.”

“The most interesting part of that class is that it’s taught by a ghost, and he’s not even an interesting one,” an older boy said, sliding in next to the girls. “Alice, are you terrorizing the first years?” She shook her head and smiled.

“No,” she said, “Felix is.”

“That darned toad.” He held out his hand to the three first years. “I’m Frank,” he said. “Fourth year. And by the way, don’t fall asleep in Transfiguration. McGonagall will kill you.”

-

The first class of the day for Gryffindors was Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. McGonagall was a terrifying woman if messed with. This was not to stop James and Sirius, though.

“My cousin Andy said she’s a really good teacher,” he was explaining to James and Peter. “She’s strict but she’s fair. And she can turn into a cat.”

“I thought all your cousins were terrible Slytherins,” Peter squeaked. Sirius nodded.

“They’re all Slytherins,” he explained, “But Andy’s a nice Slytherin. She married a Hufflepuff wizard with... no magical parentage.” James nodded approvingly.

“That’s an eloquent way to say Muggle-born,” he said.

“Is that the proper term?” James nodded. “I didn’t know, because my family all said ‘mudblood’ and since it’s my family, I knew it was probably offensive.” The three boys laughed as they took their seats.

“Remember,” Sirius instructed. “Act surprised when the cat turns into our professor. Being impressed will always win you the favor of a teacher.” The other two boys nodded approvingly, and ‘oohed’ and ‘ahed’ at the proper times, prompting mutterings from Ember behind them about how they were suck-ups. Sirius turned around to face him.

“Suck-ups, maybe,” he said, smirking. “But we’ll see who’s talking when me and my friends earn bunch of -“

“Mr. Black,” said the stern voice of Professor McGonagall, “I invite you to pay attention in my class.” Sirius whipped back around to face the front and grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry, Professor.” He batted his eyelashes, trying to feign innocence.

“Five points from Gryffindor.” That brought some snickering from some, as well as annoyed glares to Sirius for losing points already. Lily sat with rapt attention, trying in vain to hide her smirk.

Eventually, the class ended and the Gryffindors headed to the dungeons for double Potions with the Slytherins. Upon arrival at the dungeon, Lily saw Severus and smiled. They sat at a table together. James and Sirius partnered up, naturally, and Peter ended up with Remus.

“How’re you at potions?” Peter asked the other boy. Remus shrugged and got out parchment for note-taking.

“Good day, everyone!” Professor Slughorn said, entering the room, stomach first.

“Good day, Professor Slughorn” rang out from the students. Slughorn smiled.

“Now, now,” he chuckled. “No need to be excessively formal.” A few people laughed, and the professor continued. “Welcome to Potions class! Today we’ll be taking notes on the basics, but soon you’ll be making your own potions.”

As the students took out their notes, Slughorn checked his roll.

“Ah,” he said, “Rosenbaulo.” The Slytherin girl looked up. “Your father’s in the Ministry, correct?” She nodded and Slughorn looked at the next few names. “Strong. Any relation to Helena Strong?”

“Yes sir,” the boy nodded. “She’s my auntie.” Mary looked at Marlene in confusion.

“Famous Quidditch player,” Marlene muttered.

“Potter!” Slughorn exclaimed loudly, causing Remus to fall out of his chair in fright.

“Yes, sir?” James said smugly.

“Your father invented that hair potion.”

“Sleekeazy’s,” James supplied.

“Yes, excellent, marvelous. I’ve used some of that potion myself on occasion.” James grinned and Sirius raised his hand.

“Sir?” He said, grinning mischievously, “I think the question we are all asking right now is why Potter doesn’t use the potion on his wild birds’ nest of hair.” The class roared with raucous laughter, including James, who lightly punched Sirius in retaliation.

“Quite the joke, Mr. Black,” Slughorn chuckled. “Now we really should get started.” He rapped the blackboard with his wand and writing appeared. “The main types of potions.” The students scribbled notes down as Slughorn continued speaking.

-

At lunchtime, Remus grabbed a quill and parchment and headed to the Owlery. He wanted to update his parents on his first day.

 _Dear Mum and Dad,_ he wrote, I _am quite enjoying what I’ve seen at Hogwarts so far. Last night, Madam Pomfrey - that’s the nurse - showed me where I’ll be spending the full moons. There’s a tree that defends itself, but she showed me how to press a knob to make it stop, and there is a passageway through the roots to a shack in the town next to Hogwarts. I will be lonely, but I will also be far from everyone else, so I can’t hurt anyone._

_So far, the classes are fairly interesting. I like Transfiguration, but my senses are overloaded in the Potions classroom._

_I’m not making friends with anybody, like I said before I left. I don’t want to get attached to someone and end up hurting them. I miss you guys, but I’m so very glad to be able to learn magic._

_Please send chocolate if possible._

_Love, Remus_

He sealed the letter, not noticing another student in the room.

“Did you ask your parents for chocolate?” the other kid asked.

“Did you read my letter?” Remus shot back. The student held his hands up.

“Sorry,” he said. “I was just passing by and saw ‘send chocolate’. If you want chocolate, the house-elves in the kitchens have a huge supply of the best chocolates. They love giving the students pick-me ups.”

“...Thanks. Where is the kitchen?”

“It’s a little hard to explain,” the student said. “I’ll show you. Come on.” He led the way to the kitchens. “You just tickle the pear on the painting, and then it will swing open. Understand?”

“Yes.” Remus nodded. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” the other boy said as he walked away.

Following his instructions, Remus tickled the pear on the painting and nearly jumped out of his skin when the door swung open. He stepped inside.

“Hello, sir!” squeaked about fifty house-elves.

“What may we do for you?” one asked, bowing. Another elf grabbed a chair and sat the young boy down in it.

“Do - do you have chocolate?” Remus asked. Almost immediately, five elves appeared with arms full of sweets.

“What type?” they asked. “Dark, white, raspberry infused...”

“J-just plain, please.” He was overwhelmed by the kindness he was receiving. After all, he was a monster. A weak monster, considering the full moon was in just a few days. At least it was over a weekend, so he’d have time to recover without people noticing his absence.

“Here you go, sir,” one of the elves squeaked, handing Remus a slab of Honeyduke’s Finest Milk Chocolate.

“What else can we get for you?” another elf asked.

“That’s all,” Remus answered, standing up. “Thank you very much.”

“Our pleasure!” an elf said.

“Anytime!” piped another. As their kind offers filled the air, Remus left the kitchen, eating the chocolate on his way to Defense Against the Dark Arts. The room was empty, except for an older woman with short silver hair, sitting at the desk in the front.

“You’re early,” she said. Remus nodded and sat down, hoping to avoid more conversation.

“Punctuality is always a good quality,” the professor continued. “I believe Gryffindor deserves a point. You are in Gryffindor, correct?”

“Yes ma’am,” Remus squeaked. He silently thanked whoever decided to burst into the room at that moment, until the person sat next to him. It was Ember.

“Merlin,” he said. “If I have to hear one more quip from Potter or Black and then Pettigrew’s squealing laughter, I might jump into a pile of Devil’s Snare and let it strangle me.”

Remus ignored him, getting out his Defense book and parchment.

“They’re so annoying,” Ember continued. “I mean, I just didn’t want to be in Ravenclaw, because they all seem like snobs, so I asked the hat, and apparently if you ask the hat about sorting, you get put in Gryffindor.” He sighed and got his stuff out.

Remus breathed a sigh of relief when more students started filing in.

“Good afternoon, take a seat,” the professor said. “I am Professor Alexandria Marsh. I’m a retired Auror, so I know my stuff, if I do say so myself. Today we’re going to do an overview of the course.

“So, we will start off the year with some simple theoretical defense, then we’ll do some practical defense spells. We will end the year with a little bit studying Dark creatures, just the basics.”

Inadvertently, Remus shrunk in his chair. He _was_ a monster.

-

Meanwhile, second year History of Magic was proving to be as boring as ever. To pass the time, Dorcas and Alice were playing paper football, which Alice’s American neighbor had showed her over the summer.

“This is it,” Alice whispered, preparing to flick the paper triangle. “I’m going to get it.”

“Fat chance,” Dorcas muttered as Alice flicked the football. It sailed through her fingers.

“Touchdown.” Alice smirked. “Your turn.”

“Well,” Dorcas retorted, arranging the paper, “Can’t have you one up me.” She aimed for Alice’s finger goal, and flicked with an extraordinary amount of force. The paper football sailed over the other girl’s head and smacked a sleeping Rabastan Lestrange in the face.

The Slytherin whipped his head up, and narrowed his eyes at Dorcas, whose nervous smirk gave her away.

“Damn you, Meadowes,” he muttered, pulling his wand out. He muttered an incantation, showering her with dirt.

“It was an accident, you bloody arse!” she shot back.

“Like your sorting.”

“No, like your conception.” This brought a few snickers as Dorcas brandished her own wand shot water at his face.

“ _Engorgio,_ ” he whispered, pointing at Felix the toad.

“Don’t bring her into this,” Dorcas huffed, casting a spell to split his paper in half. Meanwhile, Alice was stroking a much larger Felix.

“Go get him,” she whispered, grinning. The toad proceeded to jump onto Lestrange’s face. He exclaimed in shock as Felix peed on his face, before hopping back to Alice. She shrank him back to his proper size.

“Good one, Alice,” Dorcas grinned. “I owe you.”

“Don’t mention it,” the other girl replied. “It was my pleasure.” She paused, stroking Felix. “D’you think Binns noticed?” They glanced back to the front of the room, where the ghost teacher was still droning on. Dorcas laughed.

“Nah,” she said. The two girls grinned and got the last few notes of the class down.

-

“Flight class,” James said to Sirius as they walked down the hall. “I can’t wait. I’ve practiced flying tons already. Shame first years don’t get to be on the Quidditch team, though. But I wanna be a Chaser.” He smiled arrogantly.

“I haven’t done much flying,” Sirius said. “Apparently I’m not ‘trustworthy’ enough for a broomstick at home.” James laughed, as well as Peter behind them.

“Who’s it with?” the shortest boy asked. James checked his schedule.

“Taught by Madam Hooch... We’re doing it with Slytherin.”

Sirius laughed.

“Speaking of Slytherin,” he began, running his hand through his hair, “Have you noticed how _greasy_ Snape looks today? I noticed it yesterday, but I thought he might’ve forgotten to wash. Figured he’d look better today.” The other two boys laughed.

“Does he know what shampoo is?” James asked. “I think he needs to be introduced to the concept of showering.” More laughter came from the boys, but they exploded when Peter spoke.

“He’ll probably slide off his broom, given how slippery and oily he looks,” he said. The laughter of the three boys echoed across the hall.

A little ways behind them, Remus tried to sneak away from the group of students heading out to the field. Even if he was interested, the Quidditch schedules interfered with full moons, so he wouldn’t be able to play much. He decided to get some homework done; they had already been given a lot.

“Where are you going?” someone asked, grabbing the back of his robes. He recognized the voice: it was Ember.

“You can’t skip class,” he said. “Especially flight class. If you’re not in it for Quidditch, you must know that brooms are a primary form of transportation in the Wizarding world.”

“Yeah,” Marlene piped up. “Even if you don’t like flying, it will be fun to see everyone else attempt to do it.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “And if you’re afraid of heights or something, just pretend the broom won’t let you on.”

“Thanks,” Remus smiled, but the voice in his head was saying that he shouldn’t be this friendly with people. They could get hurt.

“I won’t lie,” Ember remarked, holding his hands up, “If Potter falls off the broom I’ll probably laugh.” Lily let out a snort, and Mary and Marlene laughed as well. Remus chuckled, but there was still the gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach that he shouldn’t be doing this.

A tall, athletic witch with short dark hair greeted the students at the Quidditch pitch.

“All right, everyone,” she said shortly. “Find a broom and wait. Don’t touch the brooms yet, or you will find yourself in detention.”

James and Sirius rushed around the circle of brooms to find the best ones, with Peter trailing behind them. Marlene was also quick to grab a broom, followed by some Slytherin students. Lily, Mary and Remus hung back, the girls out of politeness, the boy out of hesitancy.

“Okay!” Hooch barked. “Stand next to your broom, hold out your wand hand, and say loudly, clearly, ‘Up!’”

Shouts of “up” rang throughout the field. James and Sirius both grinned at each other when they got their brooms up on the first try. Peter, on the other hand, was not so lucky.

“Up!” he shouted. The broom rolled over. “Up!” He screwed up his face in concentration, and bellowed, “UP!” The broom flung up and smacked him square in the face. Madam Hooch sighed as the boy’s nose began to bleed. She conjured a few napkins for him.

“Go sit in the stands,” she told him. “And pinch the bridge of your nose.” Peter obeyed, and she turned to the rest of the students. “Now, mount your brooms. If you have any trouble with form, let me know. I will help you.”

James raised his hand.

“Yes, Potter?”

“It’s just,” he began, trying to sound innocent, “Will we be flying in the air today, ma’am?”

“No. We’re just hovering for now. I don’t need half the class in the hospital wing after attempting to fly like professionals.”

-

“Well that was fun,” James said sarcastically after the flying lessons were over.

“Tell me about it,” Sirius sighed. “I thought we’d actually get to fly, not just hover like we’re subject to a charm.” He turned around. “How’s your nose, Peter?”

“Much better,” Pettigrew said. “I guess I’m just not cut out for flying.”

James shrugged.

“Well,” he said, “There’s more to life than Quidditch. Surprisingly.” The three turned the corner into the dining hall for dinner.

“Yay,” Peter sighed. “Food.”

“What did you guys think of flying?” Lily asked the other Gryffindor girls once they sat down.

“I guess it was okay,” Mary mused. “Not really my thing, though.” Maya opened her mouth to say something, but Marlene interrupted.

“I, for one, loved it,” she said. “I’m thinking about trying for Quidditch next year.” Lily nodded in approval.

“Just one question,” the redhead said. “How did you know you loved it? We barely went a few inches off the ground.”

“I’ve flown before.” Marlene took a sip of her drink. “And besides, I could just feel it in my bones.”

Thus was the first day of term. Students were laughing at the tables, recounting their new experiences and lessons.

-

That evening, as the fourth year Gryffindor boys were doing homework, the Prewett twins snickered.

“Frank,” Gideon whispered, smirking. The other boy stuck his head up.

“Hmm?”

“You’ve a toad on your head.” Frank chuckled.

“Very funny.” He returned to his work.

“No, really,” Fabian added. “You do.”

“With all due respect guys, how could there be a toad in my head?” At that moment, Felix decided to let out a loud croak. Frank screamed and fell out of his chair.

“Gryffindor,” Gideon said. “Where the brave dwell at heart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Visit my tumblr, evitoxytrash.
> 
> Constructive criticism and questions are welcome!


	3. Humorous Humiliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus seals his fate as friend to troublemakers when he comforts Sirius; Severus makes new friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: Devil in Disguise by Elvis Presley 
> 
> In my opinion, this is where the story starts to actually get good. Enjoy!

“Dude,” Mulciber said at breakfast, “Why’d you sit with the redhead Evans in Potions?” He took a bite of toast, waiting for a reply.

“She... she’s my friend,” Severus replied quietly.

“She’s a _Mudblood_ ,” Avery interjected. “She _can’t_ be your friend.” The dark haired boy sunk slightly in his seat.

“Not to mention she’s not a Slytherin,” Mulciber added. “A Gryffindor, in fact.” He rolled his eyes as a blonde sixth year sat beside them, flanked by Lucius Malfoy.

“Gryffindors, ugh,” she said, making a disgusted face. “Sure, some of them a pure bloods, but they’re the worst type.”

“Yes,” Lucius agreed. “Filthy blood traitors.”

“Almost as bad as Mudbloods,” Mulciber added. Narcissa smirked.

“Speaking of which...” She looked up at the elegant Great Grey Owl who was flying toward the Gryffindor table with a bottle-green envelope. He landed next to Sirius Black.

“You got a letter, mate,” James said, mouth full of food.

“Oh, really?” Sirius made a sarcastic face as he grabbed the letter. “Ah, yes,” he sighed. “My parents must be congratulating me on my sorting into Slytherin.”

“But you’re in Gryffindor,” Peter said, confused. Sirius laughed.

“Not the point, Pete,” he grinned, beginning to open the letter. “They don’t know -“

“SIRIUS ORION BLACK!” the letter screamed.

“You got a Howler,” James whispered. Sirius glared at him.

“No kidding, Captain Obvious.” The sound from the letter filled the hall again:

“HOW COULD YOU BE SORTED INTO GRYFFINDOR?! YOU ARE A _FILTHY, DISGUSTING_ BLOOD TRAITOR. YOUR FATHER AND I ARE FURIOUS.

“YOU’RE A DISAPPOINTMENT TO THE ENTIRE FAMILY, TO THE NOBLE AND MOST ANCIENT HOUSE OF BLACK!

“YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD FOOL US, DIDN’T YOU? NOT SAYING WHAT HOUSE YOU GOT? YOUR COUSIN OWLED ME AND SAID YOU WERE IN GRYFFINDOR AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE DISGUSTED IN MY LIFE. I’LL SAY IT ONCE AGAIN: YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THE BLACK FAMILY BLOODLINE, AND YOU DISGUST ME. ALL OF US.”

The letter burst into flames, and Narcissa smirked. Many Slytherins were laughing, as well as a few other people. Sirius grabbed the ashes, ventured toward the Slytherin table, and deposited them in Narcissa’s drink. Then he dumped the drink on her.

-

“Five points from Gryffindor!” Fabian exclaimed. “I’m all for a little fun, but that Black kid is going to put us in the negatives!” Watching his brother pace the Gryffindor common room, Gideon sighed.

“We won’t be in the negatives,” he said. “You got us ten points for reading ahead and doing a summoning charm in class yesterday.” The other brother grinned. “Besides, you can’t really blame the kid. His cousin told his parents something that she wasn’t in position to tell, and now everyone in Hogwarts - and probably Hogsmeade, too, that was a loud Howler - knows his family hates him.”

“Well,” Fabian said, his face softening, “If you put it that way...”

“That was some nerve back there,” Frank said, not looking up from his book. “Dumping a tainted drink on your enemy’s head.” He stifled a giggle, and Gideon also snickered.

“You guys are going to be the death of me,” Fabian sighed, sitting down between the two. They laughed more. “Honestly, I’d want to do that to old Qwerghtins, if we ever read tea leaves in that ridiculous class again.” Frank and Gideon doubled over in laughter.

“You know,” Frank gasped, “All the older people warned us against taking Divination... yet we still did.”

“Forget my decent marks on the last Transfiguration assignment - I’m an idiot!” When his brother said this, Fabian finally began to laugh uncontrollably.

“Where’s Sirius?” James asked, running up to the boys. “You aren’t laughing about him, are you?”

“No,” Frank said, cheeks still red. “It’s something else.”

“He’s probably in your dorm,” said the Prewett twins simultaneously. They then turned to each other, pointing, and exclaimed, “Ha!”

James, however, ignored that and raced to the dorm.

“Sirius?” he asked the lump on Black’s bed.

“Go away,” the boy responded.

“You missed dinner.” James made an attempt to sound comforting.

“I know. I’m not going into the hall.”

James sat down on the foot of the bed.

“But why? You knew your parents would be mad when they found out you were in Gryffindor. You thought it’d be funny, their reactions.” Sirius sat up for a second. His hair was messy and his eyes were red.

“That’s not the point,” he said, staring at James blankly. “They humiliated me.”

“Not to mention all the Slytherins want to hex you for dumping a drink on their house’s ‘Golden Girl,’” Peter added from the door, where he had just entered after hiking up the stairs. He was slightly out of breath. Sirius glared at him.

“Thanks for reminding me,” he muttered, slumping back into his pillow, face first. “Just leave me alone.”

“Come on,” James said to Peter. “Let’s leave him be.” The smaller boy nodded, and they left the dorm.

-

“Your spell in Defense was _epic_ ,” Mulciber gushed. A few Slytherin boys were sitting in the common room, working on their homework. Severus smiled shyly.

“I just came prepared,” he said. “I’m fascinated by the Dark Arts.”

“As anyone should be,” Avery remarked. He turned to the greasy-haired boy. “We’re getting a little impromptu dueling club together tomorrow during lunch. Invite only, of course. Wanna come?” Snape’s face lit up.

“Do I wanna come?” he said. “ _Of course_!” The other two boys grinned at him.

Across the room, a small girl with dark eyes was attempting to braid Dorcas’ short Afro.

“Gotta love ol’ Sluggy,” she said. Dorcas laughed.

“Yeah.” She made her voice deeper and more grand-sounding. “‘ _Marvelous_ work, Miss Mackenzie, simply _stunning_! Your Shrinking Solution is the most _beautiful, perfect_ shade of lilac! You are so much like you mother, yes indeed. Fifteen points to Slytherin!’” She waved her hand for a dramatic flourish, and Mackenzie laughed.

“At least we got some points for his little show,” she said, twisting her friend’s hair. “Maybe we’re on track to beat Gryffindor this year - Merlin, your hair is thick.” Dorcas nodded and laughed.

“Yes, to both accounts.” Mackenzie raised her wand and tied up the two French braids in Dorcas’ hair while she continued. “I love my buddies in Gryffindor, but they have _got_ to be put in their place once in a while. Else they’d be insufferable.” Mackenzie laughed.

“Yeah,” she said, inspecting her work. “Huh. Pretty nice braids, considering they were nearly impossible.”

-

Reaching the Gryffindor common room, Remus looked out the window and saw the barn owl he had used to write to his parents. He opened the window and grabbed the parcel it was holding, opening it as he walked to the dorm.

_Dear Remus,_ the letter began, _We’re so happy you’re enjoying your classes. Your father said his favorite subject was Charms. Have you had it yet?_

_It’s so nice of the headmaster to let you come, as you said in your letter. I trust the location for your transformations is safe. We all just want what’s best for you and for you to be happy._

_As you requested, there is some chocolate enclosed in the parcel. I know how chocolate cheers you up._

_Give me updates,_

_Mum_

Remus smiled at the letter. Upon unwrapping the chocolate, he discovered it was his favorite Lindt milk chocolate. Spirits lifted, he entered the dorm.

It was still fairly early after dinner, so James and Peter must have been in the common room. He had seen Ember in the library, but noticed that Sirius was in the room. He was clearly upset.

‘What should I do?’ Remus thought to himself as he paced the dorm room. He didn’t want anyone to be upset, but he also didn’t want to get attached to anyone. That would definitely end badly. He grabbed a quill and parchment and decided to write another letter.

 _Dear Mum,_ he began, but stopped. The other boy may not be a werewolf, but he definitely didn’t have family he could write to as much as Remus wrote. He sighed.

‘Just this once,’ he thought to himself, getting up and grabbing the chocolate. He slowly went over to Sirius’ bed.

“I’m sorry,” he said to the crying boy. “For your parents. That must have sucked.”

Sirius grunted, and Remus dropped half the chocolate bar next to him.

“Here’s some chocolate, if you want it,” he said awkwardly. “It always makes me feel better.” When that was answered with silence, he went back to his four-poster and sat down to continue the letter.

_The place for transformations is really safe. You can’t get in if you don’t know how, and only me and the nurse do. I reckon Dumbledore might, also, but he’s probably smart enough not to._

_We also did flight class. It wasn’t really my thing. Herbology is okay, but I really like Defense Against the Dark Arts. Other than the whole, training how to kill monsters like me._

Remus stopped when he heard the other boy stir. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw him break a piece off the chocolate eat it. He looked over at Remus.

“Thanks,” he said quietly.

_Thanks for the chocolate. There was a student who got a Howler - a screaming letter - because he didn’t get into Slytherin. I felt bad for him, so I gave him some chocolate thinking it would make him feel better like it does for me. I’m not going to be his friend, though. Like I said before, I can’t get attached to anyone. Nobody deserves a monster as their friend._

_Remus_

The boy signed his name on the letter and got up to send it from the Owlery. A few minutes after he left, James and Peter entered their room.

“Are you still m- ow!” Peter has evidently tried to ask a somewhat insensitive question, only to be elbowed by James. The taller boy sat down next to Sirius and put his arms around him.

“What are you doing?” Sirius asked, shrinking away from the touch, his guard up.

“Sorry.” James’ face heated up. “I was trying to comfort you. With a hug, you know.” Sirius sighed and stared at the ground.

“I’m sorry, too,” he whispered. “I was scared. At home when most people touch me, it’s because they’re - um - it isn’t to hug or comfort me.”

Although generally an unobservant person, James understood.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “That must suck.” Sirius scoffed.

“Yeah.” They sat in silence for a few minutes, until finally Sirius spoke again.

“I’ll let you hug me,” he said quietly. “Just - maybe more gently.”

“Got it,” James said, lightly putting an arm around his friend. “Hey, where’d you get the chocolate?”

“Lupin,” Sirius said. “Weird. I thought he hated us.”

“Nah,” Peter chirped, also putting an arm on Sirius, making sure he didn’t flinch. “That’s Ember.” The three boys laughed, and Remus walked into the room.

“Hey,” James said to him. “Come here. We’re doing a group hug.”

Not thinking, Remus obliged and put his arms loosely around the other three. After a few moments, James snickered.

“We should mess with your cousin,” he said, giggling. “A prank of some sorts.” Sirius gave him an actual, genuine smile.

“Yes,” he said. “She deserves it.”

That night, Remus wrote another letter to his mother. _Dear Mum_ , it read, _I screwed up._ He’d send it in the morning.

-

The next morning, James woke up first. Jumping into his robes, he woke the rest of the dorm up.

“Guess what today is?” he exclaimed.

“Planning Prank Day!” he said after nobody answered. Sirius rose next.

“Cool,” he said. “Let’s go.” Both he and Peter got dressed quickly and packed their bags. At the last minute, before the three boys left, Sirius turned back at the door.

“You coming, Lupin?” he asked. Remus nodded, while his own letter seemed to be glaring at him angrily.

“Yeah,” he breathed. “I’ll see you there.”

Down in the Great Hall, the three boys were already discussing how to get back at Narcissa.

“What’s she hate, man?” James asked, mouth full of food.

“Besides Gryffindors?” Sirius shot back. He thought for a second. “Well, she’s a typical Black, so she loves blood purity, and hates people who aren’t purebloods, or if they’re blood traitors.”

“Anything else?” Peter prodded. Sirius shrugged.

“Do you think I catalog her likes and dislikes? When one of those dislikes is me?”

“Good point.” James took a sip of water, thoughtful. “We could do something with Gryffindor. Like, change her clothes with Gryffindor colors.”

“Or, we could send her a Howler,” Sirius suggested.

“What about both?” Peter asked. Remus sat down next to them.

“Don’t do clothes,” he said thoughtfully. “She could just change them. What about hair?” James grinned.

“Mate,” he said, “You’re brilliant!”

-

Potions class seemed to go on forever. The four boys had decided to ask Slughorn about potions that could change hair color. Since Remus had less of a reputation as a troublemaker and was slightly better at the class than Peter, it was decided he would ask.

“They’re plotting something,” Severus said to Lily, a few desks away.

“Who?” she asked, stirring her potion.

“Potter, Black, and Pettigrew.” Snape frowned. “Do you think I need more lacewing flies?” Lily peered into his cauldron.

“Maybe one or two.” Lily was especially talented with potions, along with Severus. This generally meant their products far surpassed those of the rest of the class.

“And they can’t be plotting something,” she said calmly. “Lupin’s talking with them. He’s way too quiet to be a prankster.” Severus sighed.

“Maybe you’re right,” he muttered, before checking his cauldron. “I’m putting in three.” As he added the lacewing flies, Slughorn ambled over to their desks and examined their potions.

“Excellent Singing Solution, Miss Evans,” he said. “Nearly the perfect shade of aqua. Five points for Gryffindor, for your hard work.” He turned to look at the Slytherin boy’s. “Now this,” he boomed, “Is exactly what should be done!” He turned to the rest of the class. “I’m certain if someone drank a few droplets of this they would be reenacting operas for the whole day.”

“Should we test it?” James asked, smirking. Slughorn smiled and shook his head.

“No, Potter, m’boy,” he chuckled. “We wouldn’t want anyone to suffer, either as the singer or the listener.” The class laughed. “Now!” Slughorn waved his wand and spare ingredients on the floor flew away. “Pack up, and go enjoy your lunch!”

The students obliged. After finishing, Remus timidly walked up to the teacher.

“Sir,” he said quietly, “May I ask a question?”

“Of course,” Slughorn replied. “What’re you wondering?”

“I was... just thinking... If I wanted to show my house pride, is there anyway I could change my hair color to red and gold?” His face flamed. “This is all hypothetical, of course. And I understand if you don’t want to answer because you’re the Slytherin head of house.”

“What would my house have to do with anything?” Slughorn chuckled. “Curiosity should never be punished!” He though for a second, before writing a name on a spare bit of parchment. “This book,” he said, “ _Potions for Laughter and Fun_ , should work. It’s a fairly simple potion.”

“Thank you,” Remus grinned, calming down. “I’d love to see how it would work. Thank you, sir!” He ran out before Slughorn could respond.

“He gave me a book title,” he told the others, who were waiting outside the classroom. “But he said it isn’t too hard of a potion, if we have to make it ourselves.” James clapped him on the shoulder.

“Let’s go check it out.”

“I’ll get the snacks,” Peter announced.

“We can’t have snacks in the library,” Remus reminded him. “It’s against the rules.”

“So are pranks,” Sirius muttered. “And I want some cake.”

Ten minutes later, they were in the library, poring over the book to find what the potion was. James found it first.

“Here it is,” he said, pointing to the table of contents. “Page 27.” They flipped to the specified page, which read, _Hair-Changing Potion_.

“Brilliant!” Peter exclaimed, sitting down while trying to hide the armfuls of food he had illicitly brought into the library. “How hard is it?”

“Not too hard, as far as we can tell,” Sirius said. “Ooh, cake.” He shoved a piece in his mouth and continued. “Only takes an hour to brew.”

“Perfect!” James clapped his hands together. “We can do it after dinner and sneak into the Slytherin dorms before curfew.” He frowned. “But we should only make it red. How would we do two different colors in one bottle?”

“ _Insolutus_ ,” Remus suggested.

“How’d you know that?”

“It was at the bottom of the page, nitwit.” He pointed to a note at the bottom that read, _For multiple colors at once, brew separately, casting Insolutus before combining._

“Oh.” Peter and Sirius laughed.

-

After dinner, the boys sat around two of their cauldrons, preparing to make the potion.

“We have everything on the list,” Sirius said, “Except a non magic egg and red and gold dye. Where would we get that?”

“Leave it to me,” Remus said. “I know where to find those.” He took another look at the instructions. “We don’t add the eggs for a while, and the dye is last. You should go ahead and start.”

James saluted.

“Sure thing, Captain!” he said, causing the other two boys to burst into giggles. Remus sighed and prayed they wouldn’t blow up the dorm in his absence.

He ran down to the kitchen, and cautiously opened the door. Like before, a bunch of elves greeted him.

“What can we get you?” one of the elves asked.

“Do you have a few eggs I could use?” Remus asked. “Like, chicken eggs?” Within five seconds, an elf bounded up with a basketful of eggs.

“Thank you,” he told the elf, who gasped at the kindness displayed. “And, would you happen to have dye?”

The elf responded by dragging him over to a small decorated cupboard, which he opened.

“What colors, sir?”

“Red and gold.” Remus waited while he grabbed two bottles.

“Are these good?” the elf asked. When Remus nodded, the elf handed him the two bottles. “You needn’t return them,” he said. “We have plenty.”

“Thanks,” Remus grinned. “All of you and especially...” He trailed off, not sure of the name.

“Boley,” the elf supplied.

“Boley,” Remus echoed. “Thank you.” With the elves waving him off, he left the kitchen.

He ran as fast as he could without tripping or breaking anything, back to the Gryffindor tower.

“Good deeds,” he huffed to the Fat Lady, the portrait guarding the entrance.

“Certainly not what you’re up to,” she muttered in response, swinging out of the way. He raced up to his room, where the boys were waiting expectantly.

“I got them,” he announced triumphantly. James gave him a thumbs up.

“It says here we’re supposed to crack an egg in each cauldron,” he read, “And stir it clockwise three times. Then we put the dye on the shells, crush them up, and add them, stirring counterclockwise four times.” The boys followed the directions. “Now we just need to put some in a bottle and replace it with her shampoo.”

“Wait!” Remus said, pointing his wand at the red cauldron. “ _Insolutus_.” He repeated the spell with the gold cauldron, and they poured it into a bottle closely resembling the hair product Sirius remembered seeing when visiting his cousins before.

“How are we going to get it into her room?” he asked. James grinned.

“I’ll do that,” he said, pulling a silvery cloak out of his bag. “You guys send the Howler.” He exited the room.

“We decided to make a Howler that sang a song,” Peter explained to Remus, who had not been present at the making of it.

“Devil in Disguise,” Sirius said, crossing his arms smugly. “Elvis, 1963. Told her to pay close attention to the word ‘devil.’”

“Neat.” The boys laughed.

-

It took some time, but under his invisibility cloak, James was able to slip into the Slytherin common room when a few stragglers entered. He watched the two staircases, and figured the one that two of the girls went up led to the girls’ dormitory. He ventured toward it.

By the fifth step, the stairs had turned into a slide. He bit back a cry of alarm and focused on two things: protecting the bottle of potion and keeping himself covered. When he hit the common room floor, his cloak slipped loose and he saw his foot appear. Quickly, he shoved it back under the cloak.

“Who’s there?” a girl with short little braids asked, kicking the lump that was James Potter.

“I’m... a friend of Narcissa’s,” he improvised. “She left her shampoo in the prefect’s bathroom and wanted me to return it.”

“Nice try, ‘friend of Narcissa’,” Dorcas said, smirking slightly. “She’s not a prefect. What’re you really here for?”

Though invisible, James crumpled under her intimidating gaze.

“Weweregoingtoprankherbydyingherhairredandgold,” he said quickly. Dorcas snorted.

“Whoever you are, I won’t tell,” she said. “Mainly because I’d love to see her hair messed up. She’s insufferable.” She gestured to a chair far away, where Narcissa and Lucius were sitting, lips locked together. Dorcas winked. “Can’t wait to see it.” With that, she ventured up the stairs.

-

The next morning, the four boys chattered excitedly, waiting for owls to come. Narcissa had entered a few minutes prior, shooting daggers everywhere, as her hair looked like the Gryffindor mascot had thrown up on her.

Finally, the owls came. Snow White, the snowy owl Sirius had, flew down, dropped the Howler into Narcissa’s plate, and flew over to Sirius.

“Good girl,” he said, feeding her a piece of toast. “I named her Snow White after that Muggle princess movie. Annoys my parents to no end.”

“Look!” James said, pointing to Narcissa. “She’s opening the letter!” They all watched with glee as the letter exploded, the voice of Elvis Presley filling the hall. The Slytherin girl sat, dumbfounded, until the song finished.

Narcissa stood up, and looked across the hall to her cousin.

“SIRIUS!”

In a split second, Professor McGonagall had jumped down from her seat at the staff table, grabbed James and Sirius, and marched them to her office.


	4. Chapter Four: Full Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James and Sirius discover they aren’t the only ones thinking to sneak out to the Quidditch field; Remus disappears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It is not in the chapter, but I feel it captures the mood of it.

“Good morning, Minnie,” Sirius said sweetly. He and James were sitting across from her in her office, while she was glaring at them.

“Which one of you did it?” she asked them.

“Yes,” James answered.

“Twenty points from Gryffindor, each,” the professor said, looking at them over her spectacles. “And detention tonight.”

“Forty points?” James exclaimed. McGonagall nodded.

“And ten more points for theft,” she said. “I highly doubt whichever one of you stole Mr. Lupin’s book will be ratted out by the other.”

“How’d you know about the book?” James asked, while at the same time, Sirius remarked, “But you have to admit it was justified.”

“We professors talk to each other, you know,” McGonagall huffed. “And Professor Slughorn told me yesterday how he was so happy one of his students was showing school spirit and theoretical curiosity.

“And no, it was not justified. Just because someone is rude to you does not mean you should retaliate. Especially in such an inappropriate manner.” She straightened some papers while Sirius crossed his arms and sighed.

“And you will refer to me as Professor McGonagall,” she finished. “You may go.” The two boys headed out.

Meanwhile, Fabian walked by the house point marker, saw the abrupt decrease in points, and screamed, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?”

-

“How is he?” asked Dorcas, entering the library. Fabian rolled his eyes, and Gideon smiled sadly.

“Not good, I am afraid,” he said dramatically. “He’s still traumatized by the fifty-point drop. Ow!” Frank laughed and high-fived Fabian, who had just smacked his brother.

“I’m fine,” Fabian grumbled. “Just pissed off at Black and Potter. They keep causing us to lose points.”

“Well,” Dorcas shrugged, “Go, Slytherin.”

“Or Ravenclaw,” Alice added, walking up to the group. “Go, Ravenclaw.”

“Go, _Gryffindor_.” Fabian turned to his brother and Frank for support, but they shook their heads.

“Not with those boys,” Frank said, laughing. Gideon nodded, chuckling as well. Fabian sighed.

-

The school days passed by. James and Sirius served their time and were back to their old mischievous selves before long. Whether or not they noticed Remus disappearing soon after their first prank, or becoming increasingly more sickly the next month, they never said.

But the full moon was approaching, and when that happened, Remus became slightly more wolfish. Not enough to be obvious, he just had an even more heightened sense of smell, took a liking to rarer meat, and got snappy.

This was evident in Potions class, the day before the moon.

“How much root do we put in this?” Peter asked. “And what type?”

Overpowered by the scents in the room, Remus snapped.

“How in the bloody hell should I know?” he grumbled. Peter, looking hurt, turned to ask someone else.

Elsewhere, Marlene was talking to Letitia, one of the other Gryffindor girls.

“Did you know Professor Slughorn has a club?” Letitia asked, redoing her messy ponytail. “He gets the best students of each year together for dinner periodically. Or so I’ve heard.”

“I doubt I’d be part of it.” Marlene stirred the mixture in her cauldron, which was thick and yellow, instead of the desired orange. “I clearly can’t mix a potion to save my life.”

“Oh, me either.” Letitia giggled. “But I heard you can invite a date to his Christmas party.” She sighed. “I’d love to be asked by someone. There are bound to be talented boys in the year, aren’t there?”

Marlene rolled her eyes.

-

“Where’d Lupin go?” James asked at lunch, his mouth full of salad. Peter shrugged.

“I have no idea. He just snapped at me and left the dungeon.” He nibbled a piece of cheese. “Wonder if he’s sick.”

“Should we go up to the hospital  
wing and check?” Sirius asked, concerned. “He doesn’t seem the type to skip classes just to skip them.”

“Better not,” Peter said. “He seemed pretty angry when he left. He might end up hexing us.” James looked over the boy’s shoulder.

“Speaking of which...” he trailed off. Before he could say anything else, Severus muttered an incantation and James suddenly got up and started tap dancing. Sirius laughed so hard water shot out of his nose.

“What’s going on?” he asked his friend, trying in vain not to laugh.

“I don’t know!” James yelled, panicking. He looked at Sirius, who had completely lost it. “You’re a useless prat.” Peter looked from them to Severus.

“I’ll go get a professor,” he said. Standing up, he got a sudden idea. He picked up his glass and dumped it on Snape’s head. In retaliation, the Slytherin shot a different hex at him, this time causing the victim to break into song.

“Well, well, well,” Narcissa said over Peter’s off-key rendition of a German opera. “Looks like you and your blood traitor friends have got a common defense mechanism, Sirius.” She turned to Severus. “Don’t worry, all he can do is throw water at you.”

“I can also humiliate you,” Sirius retorted. He waved his wand at Severus, and feigned shock. “I was going to coat your hair in oil, but I guess you’re already so greasy that it didn’t work.” James, still dancing, laughed, and Peter tried to say “ooh” but ended up singing again.

“More like you don’t know how to do it,” Snape scoffed.

“Oh I know how to do it.” He waved his wand again and watched grease shoot out. At the last minute, his target ducked and he ended up spraying Mary in grease.

“Are you kidding me?” she screamed. “Why?”

McGonagall came up.

“I don’t even know what is going on,” she muttered, exasperated. She flicked her wand and the grease on Mary was cleaned up, and James and Peter returned to normal.

“He started it.” James pointed at Severus. McGonagall sighed.

“A point from your respective houses for each involved... so three from Gryffindor and two from Slytherin. Mary, I’m not counting you.” The young girl sighed in relief and went to sit with her friends.

-

Remus sat on the edge of the bed in the Shack. Twenty minutes ago, Madam Pomfrey had left him here and said she’d be back in the morning. He really hoped she got as far away as possible. ‘I don’t want to hurt anyone’ was the thought running through his head, keeping him human for as long as possible.

But then the moon became visible, and he could feel the cracking in his bones, as his body rearranged himself into the monster he was...

-

“I’m bored,” Sirius announced, flopping back on his bed. “Homework’s no fun.”

“ _I’ll_ say,” Peter agreed. “I still can’t get the transformation between a button and a bar of soap.” He screwed up his face in concentration and tried the spell again.

“At least your button doesn’t have holes in it anymore,” James encouraged. He looked at Sirius. “Let’s go fly.”

“What?” James mimed riding a broom.

“Fly. Quidditch field.”

“Neither of us have brooms, dude.” James smirked at this.

“The broom closet does.” He held up his wand. “And we have these. _Alohomora_ , buddy.”

“Yes!” Sirius nodded quickly. “How will we get past teachers, though?”

“My cloak.” James winked and held it up. “Get under.” Sirius obliged and they headed down to the broom shed.

“I feel so rebellious,” Sirius said as they reached the shed. “Breaking the rules and sneaking around.” James snorted.

“You haven’t felt rebellious when we did any other pranks?” he asked.

“Oh, I have. But here, it’s like, dark and kinda eerie. Like if we don’t get caught by a professor or a prefect we’re going to get eaten by a monster.” There was a howl in the distance. “Like a werewolf. It’s thrilling. I like it.”

“Dude,” James rolled his eyes. “Werewolves only come out during full moons.” He ripped the cloak off them and waved his wand at the lock on the shed. “ _Alohomora_.”

“There _is_ a full moon,” Sirius said, pointing up at the white orb in the sky. “Idiot.”

“Oh. I think we’re safe on the field.” He rummaged through the shed. “What broom do you want? I’m using a school one, though I would love to use Malfoy’s Comet.”

“Give me the Comet,” Sirius smirked. “He’s practically my cousin-in-law and ‘family shares everything.’” James laughed and tossed him the broom.

“Let’s go,” he said, still laughing. “Can’t wait to fly alone, without rules like ‘Only go eight inches in the air.’”

“Yeah.” Sirius adjusted the broom he was holding. “Flying to our heart’s content. Nobody to -" He stopped. “James.”

“What?”

“There’s someone else on the field.” He squinted, trying to see who it was. “Not sure who.”

“Oh no,” James whispered. “What if it’s a prefect?”

“Should we still do it?” Sirius backed away slowly. James shrugged.

“Sure. We may get killed by the rest of our house, but it’ll be fun.” He grinned. “Let’s go.”

As soon as they got onto the field, whoever was flying screamed out, “I’m sleepwalking, I swear!”

“McKinnon?” The two boys laughed, not believing they were so nervous about getting caught.

“Potter? Black?” She flew down to meet them. “And to think I was scared I’d get in trouble.”

“We were too,” Sirius laughed. “What’re you doing here?”

“Um, flying?” she snorted. “Dumb question.”

“What my idiot friend means,” James cut through smoothly, “Is why’d you come down to fly instead of hanging out in the dorms?” Marlene mounted her broomstick.

“The rest of my dorm is talking about cute boys.” She made a face as she went into the air. “That is most definitely _not_ my thing.” Sirius followed her up, as well as James.

“Well, did anyone talk about me?” James asked. Marlene scoffed.

“They said you were a stupid prat, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“Yes, James,” Sirius said sarcastically. “You are most certainly on track to become the school’s biggest heartthrob.” He cackled and flew through one of the goalposts.

“Maya and Letitia think you’re cute,” the girl cut in. Sirius shrugged.

“Okay.” Noticing James’ sad face, he flew over and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, buddy,” he said. “You’ll find someone.”

Suddenly, James smirked and zoomed off on his broom. Sirius, who was not expecting it, shrieked and struggled to stay on. Marlene laughed.

“Are you two trying out for Quidditch next year?” she asked.

“Of course,” they both said.

“That your broom?” she eyed the Comet. “It’s nice.”

“No,” Sirius laughed. “It’s Malfoy’s.”

“Well.” She grinned at the two of them. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

-

The first thing Remus was aware of was pain. In his left leg, his head, his chest. He tried to sit up, but a strong set of arms, as well as pain shooting through his back, pushed him back down.

“Easy, now,” Madam Pomfrey said. He opened his eyes. She was standing over him, dabbing something at his bare chest. “You need rest.”

“What happened?” he croaked. Lights behind his eyes seemed to be dancing. The nurse frowned.

“Can’t say for sure,” she answered, “But you dislocated your knee and scratched at your chest, I believe. Also may have hit your head pretty hard.” Remus winced.

“Yeah,” he said. “I think I did.”

“You need to rest,” she said gently. “I’ll close your curtains.” Remus nodded in thanks and slipped back into sleep.

-

At precisely 12:00 AM, a face appeared in the Gryffindor fireplace. It was that of a beautiful woman, with long dark hair and pretty eyes, all too familiar for one of the few students left at such a late hour.

“Andy!” Sirius exclaimed. “What are you doing?” The witch smiled kindly.

“Just wanted to congratulate you on your sorting,” she said. “My fellow black sheep.” He laughed.

“Yeah. I got an angry Howler from my mother about how I was a disappointment to my family. Not sure if my name’s been burned off the family tree yet, though.”

Andromeda laughed.

“How’s your brother?” she asked. Sirius shrugged.

“I don’t know. He hasn’t written and I’m not about to speak to my family any more than I have to.” He added another note to his paper.

“Think he’ll be in Gryffindor, too?” Sirius shook his head.

“Nah,” he said. “He’s too keen on pleasing our parents. He’ll be in Slytherin, I’m sure.”

“Well,” Andromeda sighed, “Maybe he’ll defy them in a different way.”

“Speaking of which, how’s Ted?” His cousin smiled.

“He’s fine. It’s nice to make fun of my family with someone else.”

“I hope to find that some day.” Sirius sighed.

“I hope so too, cuz.” The flames flickered and Andromeda’s faced disappeared.

“Who was that?” a voice said from the door. Sirius turned around to see who it was. Lupin.

“My cousin Andromeda,” he said. “The only other person in my family who doesn’t suck.” He patted the spot next to him. “Come sit.” The other boy obliged. “Where were you today and yesterday? And the afternoon before that?”

“Oh.” Remus thought for a second. He had to beg Madam Pomfrey to let him out this late, but managed to convince her by saying his bed was softer. “My mother was sick. I had to visit her.” Sirius looked at his still sickly face and scooted away.

“Is she contagious?” he asked. “Cause it seems like you’re sick too.”

“No. I’m just tired.” Sirius nodded and grinned.

“Hold on,” he said. He ran up to the room and came back quickly. “James had extra chocolate frogs. Want one?”

“Yeah,” Remus sighed. “Thanks.”

-

In the Prefect’s bathroom, satin robes dropped to the floor, and laughter could be heard.

“I can’t believe you changed into a robe just to take it off five seconds later,” said Lucius.

“Well,” Narcissa giggled, “We Blacks are _very_ dramatic.” She made moves to enter the gigantic tub, but screamed when her boyfriend pulled her in.

“Come here,” he murmured, kissing her. She returned the kiss and ran her hands along his body, smiling the whole time. The two only stopped when the door opened. Kingsley Shacklebolt stood around the doorway, holding a towel and shower caddy, scowling.

“I _really_ wish I could dock points from you two,” he groaned, turning and leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am...
> 
> So sorry for the last scene. I think I prefer to write about eleven-year-olds.


	5. Chapter Five: Take Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dorcas impresses Marlene at a Quidditch match; Peter accidentally sets a flock of canaries loose in the castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song for this chapter is Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf. It’s not mentioned, but I can imagine it playing in the background.

“I can’t believe it,” Mary grumbled. “It’s been a week and my hair is _still_ greasy.”  
With a flourish, she waved her wand and made the beetle she was holding go still. “Drat. This needs to be a marble.”

“Those boys,” Lily sighed, doing the same motion but succeeding. “I swear they think they own the whole school. They keep getting detentions and are still acting up.”

“They’re not that bad,” Marlene piped up, quietly. “Sirius isn’t as arrogant as James, as far as I can tell. He’s funny.” The other two girls grinned at her.

“Ooh, Marlene,” Mary giggled. “Do you _fancy_ him?” The other girl inadvertently gagged and turned the color of a tomato.

“Merlin! No! That’s disgusting!” Lily laughed.

“That’s good,” she said. “Because I was about to hex you if you did.” They laughed, and Marlene’s cheeks turned back to their normal color.

-

“I can’t believe it!” James exclaimed. “Ten points for Gryffindor for our excellent marbles and I didn’t even _practice_!”

“Hey,” Sirius said, punching James lightly, “I earned us five of those points.”

“You didn’t practice either,” Remus pointed out. Ember, who was passing by, muttered something about poor students.

“I still can’t get some of the simple charms to work,” Peter fretted. “I think the only reason my beetle wasn’t moving in class today was because I accidentally killed it.” Sirius snorted.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “That was completely insensitive of me.” Peter laughed along.

“It’s okay,” he reassured his friend. “I do think I have a talent for History of Magic. I think I’ll go practice some charms at lunch.”

“Want us to come with?” James asked. The smaller boy shook his head.

“No, but thank you.” He smirked. “I know you enjoy lunch, but I’d rather not die of secondhand embarrassment when you try to speak to Evans and she rejects your overtures of friendship.” Remus and Sirius laughed.

“Guys!” James protested.

“It’s true,” Sirius remarked. James sighed.

“Yes it is,” he said sadly. He perked up. “But it’s been a week since I last attempted an overture of friendship. Maybe today’s the day!”

“You keep telling yourself that,” Remus quipped, causing the other two boys to burst into raucous laughter.

-

Lily was in fact, not at lunch. She had decided to catch up with Severus, and they had found a private room to hang out together. They spread a blanket out in the floor and both pulled out baskets of food from the kitchens.

“What’s your favorite course?” Lily asked her friend.

“Definitely Defense Against the Dark Arts,” he replied. “What about you?” Lily thought for a second.

“I enjoy Charms, but I think Potions is my favorite,” she said. Severus nodded.

“We’re both pretty good at potions.” They fell into a comfortable silence, eating their meal.

“I’m sorry I’m not in Slytherin,” Lily said suddenly. Severus shrugged.

“It’s okay,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me.”

“Does it bother you that I don’t have magical parentage?”

“No, why?”

“Because it seems as if some of your new friends don’t like non-purebloods.” She looked sad.

“No, no!” Severus said. “Just because you don’t have magical parents doesn’t mean you don’t belong here.” He smiled. “You’re probably one of the most brilliant students in our year.” Lily smiled back.

“You’re pretty smart, too,” she said. They grinned at each other.

“I’ve been practicing a new spell,” Severus said. “Watch.” He picked up a bunch of grapes and tapped it, muttering. Lilies sprouted from where the grapes had originally been. He smiled and handed the flowers to Lily. “A bunch of lilies for Lily.” She laughed and took them.

“Thanks. They’re beautiful. Although my favorite flowers are actually peonies.”

“Really?” He smacked his forehead. “I practiced that spell for ages! I don’t know how to do it with peonies.”

“Common misconception,” Lily giggled. She swatted him with the flowers. “But don’t worry. I still love them.”

-

After a day of classes and dinner, the teachers went to a faculty meeting. Such meetings were often entertaining, due to McGonagall making humorous remarks, and Dumbledore being generally flaky.

Professor Marsh entered the staff room, to see the other teachers watching her.

“Am I late?” she asked. Flitwick shook his head.

“As long as you get here before Dumbledore, you’re not late,” he said. The rest of the teachers laughed.

“Did someone say my name?” the headmaster asked, eyes twinkling, as he entered the room.

“Just telling Alexandria about punctuality,” Sprout clarified.

“Ah, yes,” Dumbledore said, “It is always good to be on time. Let’s get started.” He pulled out a piece of parchment. “House points. Slytherin at 95, Ravenclaw at 100, and Hufflepuff at 120. Oh, and Gryffindor is trailing behind with 83 points.” McGonagall sighed.

“It’s Potter and Black,” she muttered. “They’re always trying to prank fellow students.”

“They do have an aptitude for troublemaking,” Slughorn agreed, trying not to laugh.

“Moving on,” the headmaster continued, oblivious to the snickering of the fellow staff members. He turned to Kettleburn. “The Ministry has changed the Care of Magical Creatures curriculum. Only the theoretical knowledge of dragons is required for OWLS.” The professor looked a little disappointed.

“Bugger,” he said. “I had an excellent contact to get a Hungarian Horntail.”

“Yes, such a shame.” Dumbledore looked around at his staff, who were still giggling. “Lastly, the Hufflepuff-Slytherin Quidditch match is tomorrow at 10. I trust the heads of houses to have good sportsmanship.” At last, he looked down. “And Minerva, though I appreciate your talents of Transfiguration, I do happen to prefer my beard to be its natural silver, rather than hot pink.” McGonagall smirked, but flicked her wand, and Dumbledore’s beard returned to its original color.

-

“All right,” Gigi Prince, the Slytherin Quidditch team captain, announced to the rest of her team, “First match. We’ve gotta make a good impression on the rest of the students. They need to know we aren’t to be messed with. This is the best team we’ve had in while - shut up Lucius, if you were captain you’d choose your buddy Macnair and he can’t even sit on a broom straight - and we are gonna win.” Cheers and also some snickers from the snide comment erupted from the team. “Let’s go.”

“Hold on,” said the Keeper, Adonis MacMillan. “Let’s be honest. His first choice would be his girlfriend.” The group laughed and headed out.

Dorcas was a little nervous for her first Quidditch match. She was the best Seeker who tried out, but Gigi, who would generally never hurt a fly, was hell-bent on winning the Quidditch Cup and would probably not be happy if the new player screwed everything up. Besides, she wanted to keep her position on the team, and if she messed up, Gigi would probably convince the old Seeker to return from her leave of absence.

 _Well,_ she thought as the team entered the field, _I’m just going to have to look extra hard for the Snitch. I gotta catch it._ She looked up at the announcer’s box and felt relieved when she saw the Prewett twins. They would at least provide some humor to the situation.

“Ready?” Gigi asked her. She nodded. “Good. Don’t let me down.”

Madam Hooch blew her whistle when both teams were on the field.

“Mount your brooms, please,” she said. When all had mounted their brooms, she blew on her whistle and the game began.

“Annnnnd the Quaffle goes to Derrick,” Fabian announced.

“Who passes it to Prince,” Gideon added. Under his breath, but still able to be heard, he said, “I guess everyone agrees Malfoy is not to be trusted.”

“SHUT UP GIDEON!” both Professor McGonagall and Fabian yelled at the same time. Gideon laughed.

“Prince loses the Quaffle,” he continued, “Hufflepuff in possession.”

“Marshall passes to Austin,” Fabian added, “Who passes to van Horan - ooh, Bludger to the arm - he drops it.”

“Prince speeding toward the hoop - she shoots - blocked by Bones!”

“Dang,” Dorcas said to nobody, searching the skies, “We’ve gotta get moving.”

-

Peter was in the empty Charms classroom. He had decided to practice his unlocking charm, which meant finding locks. He was very pleased when Remus said he could use the lock he had for his trunk.

“ _Alohomora_ ,” he whispered, waving his wand at the lock. Nothing happened. He flipped through his Standard Book of Spells book to the page on the charm.

“Ah,” he said to himself. “Tap the lock.” He tapped the lock and whispered, “ _Alohomora_!” The lock clicked open and he squealed in delight. He decided to try again. Success again.

“I should try it from different angles,” he mused. He held up the lock in different positions, whispering “ _Alohomora_ ” and getting excited when it worked.

He held the lock, re-locked, in front of him, oblivious to the cage of relatively silent yellow birds.

“ _Alohomora_ ,” he announced confidently, forgetting to aim or tap the lock. A lock clicked open, but it wasn’t the one he was holding. He looked up as the canaries chirped and the door to their cage creaked open.

They flew out, exploring the room, only now deciding to make noise. As they ventured toward the door to the classroom, Peter realized he had left it open.

“Oh no,” he whispered.

-

“HUFFLEPUFF SCORES!” the twins announced together. In the stands, James and Sirius screamed in delight, much to the dismay of the people around them.

The score was Slytherin, 80, to Hufflepuff, 60. It was getting tense.

Dorcas watched for the Snitch, also managing to see Austin of Hufflepuff get hit by a Bludger that Flores, the only other second year on the Slytherin team, had aimed.

“Prince catches the Quaffle,” Fabian was saying, “And dives toward the goal - SHE SCORES!” The Slytherins cheered and the Hufflepuffs groaned, but Dorcas was too busy to notice. Halfway through that announcement, she had noticed a flicker of gold between the two Hufflepuff Beaters. She sped towards it.

“What’s Meadowes doing, there, my fellow announcer?” Fabian asked. The Seeker in question was vaguely aware of another player trying to gain on her. She sped up.

“I would assume she’s found the Snitch, dear brother,” Gideon replied. A Bludger passed Dorcas as she got nearer to the two Beaters. “Did you know she’s my favorite person?”

“I’m hurt.”

It was like it was in slow motion: Dorcas reached her hand out and felt the Snitch, as the two Beaters brought their clubs back to hit the oncoming Bludger. She tightened her grasp on the Snitch, the Bludger flew above the crowd, but the Beaters could not stop. Both hit her square in the chest and she was launched off her broom, still with a death grip on the Snitch.

Time sped back up. Dorcas tumbled to the ground, still holding the golden ball. She held it up, woozy, feeling unable to breath.

“I got it,” she choked out, collapsing on the ground and blacking out.

“SLYTHERIN HAS THE SNITCH!” The twins announced together.

“And the Seeker needs to go to the hospital wing,” Gideon added.

-

“What did you think?” Marlene asked Lily excitedly.

“It was interesting,” the redhead replied thoughtfully as they reentered the castle. “I wouldn’t want to play it though.” Marlene opened her mouth.

“We know,” Mary cut in before she could speak again. “ _You_ would want to play it.” The other girl blushed.

“Yeah,” she said, “Sorry. I just got - holy hippogriffs! Was that a canary?” A bird had whizzed by, tweeting loudly. The bird was followed by little Peter Pettigrew, desperately trying to catch it. A few other students watched as more birds flew by, seemingly taunting the boy.

“What is going on, here?” Professor McGonagall burst through the crowd of students. She immediately looked to James and Sirius.

“Okay,” Sirius said, holding his hands up, “I know I shot grease at Mary MacDonald...”

“And we both pranked his annoying cousin,” James added.

“But I can safely say we have NOTHING to do with this,” the young Black finished. McGonagall seemed ready to open her mouth, but Ember cut in.

“I can attest to that,” he said flatly. “They were at the Quidditch match the whole time, screaming in my ear whenever someone scored.” The professor sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

“Very well,” she said as the birds teamed up to lift Peter up and hang him on a chandelier. “I must fix this mess.” She waved her wand and the birds flocked to her. “Filius!” she called to the little professor. “Get the cage in your room.”

He nodded and shouted “ _Accio_!” This caused the cage to fly into the hall after a few moments. He swiftly caught it and opened it up and McGonagall corralled the birds into it. He shut it and locked it.

“Now that that’s taken care of,” McGonagall sighed as Flitwick went off to his room with the canaries.

“Um, Professor?” Peter squeaked from the chandelier. She sighed and got him down, amidst laughter from all the students watching.

“Explain yourself,” she said sternly to the young boy.

“Well,” he said, talking quickly, “I wanted to get some extra practice with unlocking stuff, so I decided to practice during the Quidditch match. Remus lent me his lock that he had, so I figured I could go to Professor Flitwick’s classroom. You know, practicing charms in the Charms classroom.

“I guess I forgot to shut the door, but I missed the lock when I tried it one time and hit the lock on the canary cage and they flew out. I’ve been trying to get them back since.”

“Five points from Gryffindor for irresponsibility,” McGonagall muttered at last. “And what is it with you boys and stealing your fellow students’ stuff?”

-

Marlene shyly walked to the hospital wing. She figured that since it had been a few hours, the rush would have died down. Thankfully, Dorcas was sitting in her hospital bed alone, reading a book.

“‘Sup?” she said.

“Hi,” Marlene said awkwardly. “I just wanted to let you know that when you caught the Snitch it was really impressive. Not the part where you were smacked off your broom. I mean that looked cool but obviously I was worried because it also looked like it-“

“Thanks.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Dorcas waved a hand dismissively. “Pomfrey’s amazing. Just a few potions and I’m back to normal. Still have to rest for a night, apparently.”

“Good.” Marlene sat down awkwardly. “You seem to be really good at Quidditch.” Dorcas smiled.

“Thanks,” she said. “Wanna play together sometime?” The other girl nodded eagerly.

“Yeah. I would like that.”

-

“Hey Sirius,” James said at dinner the next day.

“What?” the other boy replied.

“I dare you to jump onto the next person who comes in and latch onto them like a koala.” Sirius laughed.

“Okay.” James, Peter and Remus watched as a figure entered the room, and Sirius sprinted up to wrap himself around one Lucius Malfoy. Narcissa came in after him and snorted.

“Oh no,” Peter whispered. The Slytherin prefect looked disgustedly at the first year attached to him and spoke:

“Mmmmmm... 20 points from Gryffindor.”


	6. The Super Secret Seeker Society

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James has a special talent for Transfiguration; The Gryffindor first-years team up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: House of the Rising Sun by The Animals

“Halloween is coming up soon, guys!” James announced to the other first year Gryffindor boys one morning. “What’re we doing?” Ember, as usual, ignored them.

“What’s Halloween?” Sirius asked, his mouth full of one of the scones he had nicked from the kitchens.

“Where you dress up as something and go around and get treats and stuff.”

“Sounds cool.”

“What if we did a prank?” Peter suggested.

“Obviously,” Sirius said.

“Well,” Remus piped up, flipping a page in his book, “There’s fucking loads of suits of armor around the castle. We could change them into something.” He was met with silence. “I mean, it’s probably a difficult spell, but we could manage it.” Still, the other boys were staring at him, open-mouthed. “What?”

“You said a no-no word!” Peter gasped. The other two nodded.

“Oh.” Remus shrugged. “Didn’t know it was a big deal.”

“Big deal?” James repeated. “It’s brilliant!” He thought for a second. “We could turn the suits of armor into pumpkins.”

“ _You_ can.” Remus returned to his book. “I’ve gotta visit my mum around that time.”

“She sick again?” Sirius asked.

“It’s a chronic illness. I need to make sure she’s okay every month.”

“Ah,” James said in realization. “Well, we hope your trip goes all right.” As expected of someone with a short attention span, he whipped around to Sirius. “We should dress up as a unicorn!”

“How would we do that?”

“You be the back legs and I’ll be the front legs, obviously.”

“Why do I have to be the arse?” Sirius groaned.

“Because I came up with the brilliant idea.” James stuck his tongue out at him.

-

“So,” Dorcas said at breakfast, sitting at the Hufflepuff table, “I have a question.” Bonnie Wren, the Hufflepuff Seeker, looked up.

“Yes?”

“We have a meeting today, right?” Bonnie nodded.

“Yeah, at lunch.”

“Okay, cool. Can I bring someone?”

“Of course! Everyone’s allowed a plus-one.”

“Okay.” Dorcas grinned and yelled across the room, “Hey Marlene!” The other girl cautiously approached.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Wanna fly with us?”

-

At 11:00 precisely, all the students filed back into the Great Hall.

“Welcome, welcome!” Dumbledore said as if they didn’t walk into the Great Hall three times a day. “So good to see all of you.”

“What’s this about?” Lily asked Mary, in their seats. Mary was about to open her mouth to express her confusion when Sirius jumped in.

“It’s likely an announcement,” he said. “Due to the date, I presume it has something to do with Halloween. My cousins have often told my brother - they don’t really talk to me, except Andy - that there is a -“

“Oh, shut up, Black,” the two girls said in unison. He flashed them a smile before turning back to face Dumbledore.

“As many of you may know,” the old headmaster continued, “In a few days’ time the Annual Hogwarts Costume contest will occur. Before dinner, any student wishing to participate will gather on the Quidditch field to be judged. Those wishing to watch may do so.

“There are a few simple rules: First of all, always be fair. No transfigurations or illegal potions are allowed. Second, the maximum amount of students that can be together is ten. The minimum is one. And finally, you just have fun! This is all for the purpose of enjoyment. Do not get overly competitive.” At this point, McGonagall whispered something to him.

“Ah,” he added. “I almost forgot. The prizes are as follows: winners in the first or second year may accompany the older students on their next Hogsmeade visit, and third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh year winners receive fifty House points for each member of the team. Remember to have fun!”

The room buzzed with excitement.

“I think I’ll dress up as Gideon,” Fabian mused.

“I think I’ll dress as _Fabian_ ,” his brother decided. They looked at each other and smirked.

“Perfect!” they said.

A few seats over, James was pumping up his friends.

“We gotta do something together,” he said. “Imagine: the four of us taking Hogsmeade by storm!”

Peter nodded eagerly and Remus shrugged.

“When do you have to visit your mother?” James asked.

“Tuesday,” Remus whispered.

“And Halloween’s Sunday!” Sirius exclaimed. “We can do this! You can join us!”

“We’re gonna win,” James announced. Lily, a few feet away, scoffed.

“They’re so full of themselves,” she said to her friends. Mary nodded.

“Oh, look at me,” she said, pushing her hair back and imitating Sirius, “‘I’m Sirius Black! I like to hex people and I think I’m better than everyone since I don’t like my family! Teheehee I’m so special!’” The other girls giggled, while Peter, who overheard, retaliated.

“Oh, look at _me_!” he said, raising his voice a few octaves and putting a napkin over his head in a poor imitation of hair. “ _I’m_ Mary MacDonald and I think _I’m_ better than everyone because I hate boys who like to joke around!”

“Hey!” Mary said, offended. Lily nodded in support, as well as Maya. Marlene and Letitia shrugged.

“That’s it!” James exclaimed. “Guys, we’ll dress up like the girls!” The other three boys nodded in agreement. “Peter can dress up as Mary, Sirius can dress up as Marlene, Remus can dress up as Maya, and I’ll dress up as Lily.” He grinned smugly. “Since it seems fitting the most beautiful guy should dress as the most beautiful girl.”

“Hey!” Sirius said. “ _I’m_ the most beautiful guy!”

“I think you’re both ugly,” Marlene interjected. She turned to Lily. “We should dress as the guys. Anyway.” She stood up as Lily nodded. “I’ve gotta go. Playing Quidditch with some people.”

She caught up with Dorcas at the door.

“Thanks for inviting me,” she said. The other girl grinned.

“Of course,” she replied. “I needed a plus-one and most people I know aren’t interested.” Marlene did not take offense in this, considering that Dorcas was a cool, talented athlete and she was just a dorky first year. They walked to the broom cupboard in silence.

“You can use my Cleansweep,” Dorcas said once she opened the door. Marlene shook her head.

“Oh, no.” She moved to grab a school broom. “That’s yours. I’m not like Sirius Black, I won’t take someone else’s broom, not when there’s a perfectly good school broom available.”

“Oh?” Dorcas raised an eyebrow. “Do tell me more.” Marlene grinned as they ventured toward the field.

“Well,” she started, “I was flying at night, this one time, and Potter and Black come running into the field. I thought they were prefects at first.” Dorcas laughed. “And so we get to talking, and both James and I used school brooms, but apparently Sirius stole Malfoy’s broom!”

“Oh, my,” Dorcas said, gasping for breath. “That takes guts. He deserved it, anyway.” They reached their field.

“Welcome, Marlene,” she continued, “To the Super Secret Seeker’s Society!” She grinned while the other girl hesitated.

“Um, I’m not too keen on being a Seeker,” she said. Dorcas shrugged.

“Nobody’s plus-one has to be. Gideon usually brings his brother, who’s a Chaser.” Marlene relaxed.

“Okay,” she said, walking out into the field. She looked at the people on the field. The Prewett twins were there, as well as Bonnie and a first year Marlene recognized from the sorting. A tall girl she assumed was the Ravenclaw seeker was accompanied by a smaller third-year.

“Hello everyone,” Bonnie said, dramatically waving. Her black ponytail swished when she moved. “Since there’s some first-years, or people who haven’t been here before, I believe this calls for an introduction.

“I’m Bonnie, Hufflepuff seeker, fourth year. This is my pal Pendleton.” She gestured to the sandy-haired lanky boy next to her, who smiled and said, “Call me Pen.”

“Rena of Ravenclaw,” and her plus-one, Maria, came next.

“Hi,” one of the twins said. “I’m Fideon and he’s Gabian!” Bonnie sighed.

“Every time,” she muttered. “Every bloody time. Gideon’s the Seeker, Fabian is not. He also has slightly longer hair.” The twins laughed, continuing even when Dorcas introduced herself and Marlene.

Marlene decided she liked the Super Secret Seekers’ Society. Mostly, they talked, raced, and threw around various Muggle balls that Bonnie brought along with her. Afterwards, she walked back with Dorcas.

“What’d you think?” the second-year asked her. She smiled.

“It was a lot of fun.”

“Well, you were better than that Pen guy.” They laughed. “What’re you doing for the costume contest?”

“The other first year girls and I are dressing up as the boys,” Marlene said. “It’s gonna be great.”

“I’m dressing up as Umbridge,” Dorcas replies. She looked down at her t-shirt and shorts. “Bit of a stretch for me.” The two girls laughed as they walked back to the castle.

-

Anyone who knew anything about the Gryffindor first-years would have been shocked to see them all huddled together in the common room that night. After all, Lily and Mary hated all the boys but Ember, and Ember had the same opinion. But Mary was actually the first to suggest they work together, due to their similar ideas. She had even convinced Ember to join in.

“So,” James was announcing to the group. “It’s settled. Peter and Mary switch, Ember and Lily, me and Maya, Remus and Letitia, and Sirius and Marlene.”

“Darn,” Sirius said. “I could’ve rocked the whole skirt-and-flats thing Mary had.” He grinned at Peter. “Good luck.”

“So we’ve got the clothes all figured out, pairing people with similar sizes,” Lily interjected, “How do we do the hair?”

“Especially me,” Letitia said, gesturing to her wild brown curls and then to Remus’ relatively calm waves.

“Aha,” James interjected. “ _Aha_. Might I offer you a simple solution -“

“Oh, shut up about your dad’s hair potion if you aren’t going to use it!” Mary laughed. Ember sighed.

“Can you guys seriously just come up with another joke?” he groaned. The boys smirked and turned to Sirius. “OTHER THAN THAT ONE!” Everyone cracked up.

“Are wigs allowed?” Peter asked suddenly.

“Muggle supplies is,” Sirius answered. “I asked. And we can write to parents to get them. Not like I can write to mine.”

“Well,” James said, “I can write to my parents. Anyone else?” Ember, Lily and Letitia nodded.

“Don’t ask for one for you,” Maya said to James. “I’m going to do it.”

“Will it hurt?” He was suddenly apprehensive. Maya just smirked.

-

It was Halloween night, yet the moon was full.

“That’s not right,” Remus thought, looking out a window in the Shack. He saw a group of people approach and ring a doorbell, which was not a function of the house. He went to answer it.

“Hi!” Peter said, but he had Mary’s voice. It was the same with the other three boys. “Happy Halloween!”

“Where are the rest of you guys?” Remus asked.

“They decided to go as monsters!” Maya/James exclaimed.

“Scary ones, too!” Marlene/Sirius chirped. Then, a bunch of people dressed as wolves ran up and howled. It was at that moment that the effects of the moon started to settle, and Remus turned into a wolf and ran after his friends.

-

Sirius was dreaming that he was rocking out to the Animals in his room with Regulus and Kreacher.

“Give is a slow song!” Regulus shouted, and he obliged, watching as the house-elf and his brother began waltzing to House of the Rising Sun.

It was then that his mother barged in.

“Turn that filthy music off!” she shouted. She softened her voice to talk to the other members in the room. “Kreacher, Regulus, I don’t blame you.”

They scurried out of the room.

“Sirius!” she barked. “I have your future wife with me.” She pulled someone into the room, and if it wasn’t so terrifying, Sirius might have laughed. Snape stood at the door, wearing a frilly pink dress.

“No!” Sirius shouted. “I will not marry Snivellus! I told you, I’m in love with Peter!” In response, his mother pulled out her wand and yelled, “ _Crucio_!” and he woke with a start.

Fighting back tears, he was about to go to sleep when he heard a muffled sob from Remus’s bed. Quietly as possible, he got up to investigate.

“What are you doing?” the other boy asked quietly.

“Comforting you,” Sirius answered. “Now move over, idiot.” Remus obliged with little protest and Sirius climbed in to the bed next to him.

“Why are you doing this?” Remus sniffled. Sirius put his arm around him.

“Because we’re friends,” he said. “And you helped me feel better after the Howler from my stupid mother. But bear with me, I may not be the best at comfort. The last time I called for my mother after a nightmare, I just got a ‘Go away, disappointment child.’” Remus smiled weakly. “I was six.” This got a laugh out of the other boy, who leaned into him.

For a few minutes, it was silent, until Sirius asked, “What did you dream?”

“I dreamt I killed you and James and Peter,” Remus said, wincing. “I’m a monster.” Sirius snorted.

“You are _not_ a monster, Remus,” he said. “Just because of a dream. I mean, I had a dream recently that I exploded Dumbledore for giving me extra Muggle Studies homework. We can’t even take Muggle Studies yet!”

Remus remained silent, hesitant to elaborate.

“And you’re not a monster in real life, either,” Sirius continued. “I highly doubt a monster’s ideal weekend would be reading some boring classic book and eating chocolate. That’s a dork’s ideal activity.”

Despite himself, Remus laughed.

“At least I know how to read,” he quipped sleepily.

“For you information,” Sirius muttered, rolling his eyes, “I _do_ know how to read. I just elect to read _interesting_ things like Quidditch magazines, as opposed to boring garbage like what you enjoy.” He waited for a reply, but Remus was fast asleep. Not wanting to wake his friend again, he stayed in place.

The next morning, when Sirius awoke, he was still hugging Remus. Peter woke up and saw them, and kicked James, having a silent conversation with him. Suddenly, James cannonballed onto Remus’ bed, followed by Peter.

“Group hug!” James screamed. The other two boys who were awake laughed, which, in turn, woke Remus. Smothered under the weight of three other boys, he growled.

“I hate you all,” he muttered, trying not to laugh.

-

“Gideon?” Frank asked sarcastically, “Is that you?” Fabian snorted.

“Why yes,” he said. “And this is my brother Fabian.”

“I’m a nerd!” Gideon screamed, running ahead of the other two toward the field. They laughed and ran to catch up to him.

On the field, many students competing were already there. Narcissa and a few of her friends were dressed as the founders of Hogwarts. As usual, a few students dressed as Dumbledore, and there were always students dressed as various magical creatures. The three judges, McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Marsh, surveyed the students.

Apparently Hagrid was a judge one year, but failed to stay impartial and ended up trying to award anyone who dressed as a magical creature.

“And who are you two supposed to be?” Dumbledore asked Dorcas and Alice. Dorcas was wearing all pink, except for the black velvet bow in her hair.

“Hem, hem,” she said in a high-pitched voice. “I’m Dolores Umbridge.” Professor Marsh busted out laughing, but quickly composed herself.

“I’m Mr. Crouch,” Alice shrugged. She adjusted the fake mustache she was wearing and took off her bowler hat solemnly. “I can safely say I have no idea how to imitate him.”

“Well,” McGonagall noted, “Your costumes are both very accurate.” Along with the other two judges, she turned to the Prewett twins and Frank and sighed. “Every year, boys.”

“Who are you three?” Dumbledore humored them.

“I’m Gideon!” Fabian said.

“And I’m Fabian!”

“I’m a werewolf,” Frank finished. “As you can see, the moon is not full, so I am still a boy.”

Dumbledore did his routine laugh and McGonagall sighed again. Marsh smiled.

“I applaud you in your accurate, yet lazy costume, Mr. Longbottom,” she told Frank. “I actually have a friend who’s a werewolf. She’s quite a lovely person.”

Remus, dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, and a pair of jeans, felt his heart leap into his throat. If his professor was friends with someone like him, maybe he wasn’t such a monster. He pulled a bug out of his hair, as nobody was able to find a messy brown wig and he had to resort to using twigs for hair.

“Nice costume,” Letitia told him as she walked over to him. She had ended up using some of the Potter hair potion, and pulled it back to hide its length.

“Nice one yourself,” he grinned. “Just don’t stretch my sweater.”

“Where are the other boys?” Lily asked, joining them. Remus thought she was lucky. Ember’s clothes were rather boring.

“I’m here!” Peter chirped from next to Mary. Having similar clothes, they just looked like gender-swapped versions of themselves.

“ _I’m_ on time, no surprises,” Ember muttered. He smiled at Lily. “Can’t say I like demin skirts, though.” She nodded, but groaned in frustration.

“Where are they?” At that moment, James, wearing jeans and a Bee Gees shirt, as well as really uncomfortable braids, and Sirius, wearing a dress and Marlene’s jean jacket, sprinted up to them.

“Sorry we’re late,” James gasped. “We had...other business to attend to.”

“If you changed the walls of the common room to pink, I may have to murder you.” Lily sighed.

“We did not,” Sirius said, “But that is an excellent idea.” Before Lily could protest, the three judges walked up.

On cue, Marlene, wearing bland clothing, and Maya, wearing a tie-dyed shirt, burst in.

“Sorry we’re late,” Maya said grandly, imitating James.

“Helloooooo, Minnie,” Marlene yelled dramatically, “Did you know I hate my parents?” The three professors glanced at each other. They knew who would win the contest.

-

After the Gryffindor first-years were announced as winners, the students filed back into the Great Hall, taking a moment to appreciate the decorations.

“ _That’s_ new,” Narcissa said to Lucius, gesturing to the pumpkins in place of the suits of armor.

“Probably has something to do with your blood-traitor cousin,” he agreed.

“Honestly, anytime something goes wrong, it’s probably him or my disowned sister.” Her boyfriend nodded as McGonagall noticed the pumpkins.

“Potter! Black!” she yelled. They looked up at her. “My office. _Now_.”

Once in the office, Sirius batted his eyelashes in an attempt to get out of punishment.

“I do think Marlene’s costume was second best,” he said. “Quite accurate, as I do hate my parents. Though we all know whose costume was best. Mine. Because I am so beautiful.”

“What did you two do?” the professor sighed.

“I didn’t do anything,” Sirius said innocently. “I just kept watch.” He shrugged and grinned.

“I’m docking ten points for your aiding of whatever Potter did.” She turned to him. “What did you do?” James grinned sheepishly.

“I transfigured all the suits of armor into pumpkins.” He shrugged. McGonagall sighed once again.

“Well, as I do not trust you two to fix them on your own, I shall do so. I will take twenty points from Gryffindor for your infraction, though, and you two will not be permitted to go with the rest of your team to Hogsmeade.”

“Yes Professor,” the boys said.

“Very well. You may go.” She pulled out a stack of papers to grade, but watched James let Sirius leave first. “Wait.”

“Yes?” He looked up.

“Did you do the spell all on your own?”

“I mean, I had to look it up, but yeah.” She sighed and pushed a tin toward the far side of the desk.

“Have a biscuit, Potter.”

-

It was afternoon, yet Madam Pomfrey insisted Remus stay the night. He wasn’t even that hurt, but at least she had allowed him to get his books so he could do his homework. He saw Lily enter the hospital wing and held his spells book up to hide his face.

“Hello, dear,” he heard the nurse say to Lily. “That time of the month?”

“Yes, thank you, ma’am,” she responded awkwardly. Remus lifted his eyes over the page and saw she was drinking a pain potion. He quickly hid his face again when he saw her look up and start walking over.

_The key part of the Levitation spell is the ‘swish-and-flick’ movement that -_

“Hello, Remus,” Lily said, lowering his book and smiling kindly. “It’s your time of the month, too isn’t it?”

His heart sunk. She _knew_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, why am I still doing this?


	7. The New Hobby of Sirius Black

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily and James receive invitations to a gathering; Mary puts Mulciber in his place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is Daydream Believer by The Monkees. It’s not actually in the story, I just thought it fit with the mood.

_Okay,_ Remus thought to himself. _This is just a minor bump in the road. I can fix this. Maybe she hasn’t had education about that sort of stuff._

“Whatever do you mean?” he asked innocently.

“Um,” Lily said, waving a hand around, “The moon. I read transformations are painful. Is that why you’re here?”

“No!” Remus practically shouted. “I happened to fall out of a tree.” Lily crossed her arms.

“I heard Potter say you went to visit your mother,” she said suspiciously. She was obviously not buying his excuse.

“I fell out of a tree at my mother’s house,” he tried again. Lily smiled and shook her head.

“I’m not as dumb as your friends, Remus. You’ve disappeared three times this year, each time when there was a full moon the night before.” He felt his face heat up.

“You got me,” he said quietly. “I’m a -“

“SIRIUS BLACK!” Both kids looked toward the source of the noise.

“Did he get another Howler?” Remus asked. Lily shook her head.

“No,” she answered, starting to smile, “ _That’s_ Marlene.”

“Speak of the devil,” Remus laughed as Sirius sprinted into the hospital wing, followed closely by Marlene, her blonde hair falling out of her messy bun.

“GIVE ME BACK MY JACKET!” she screamed. Remus tried in vain to hide again.

“Hey, Re,” Sirius said as he ran up to them, panting. He was wearing Marlene’s denim jacket. “What’re you doing here?”

“I fell out of a tree when I visited my mum,” he answered casually. Marlene ran up to them.

“Can I have that back now?” she asked, holding her hand out for the jacket. Sirius grinned and took off the jacket.

“Sure.” He held it out, but snatched it back at the last minute. “If you can catch me.” He sprinted off and Marlene let out a groan of frustration before following him.

“Just so you know,” Lily said, shocking Remus, as he had forgotten she was there, “I won’t tell anyone.”

“Really?”

“Sure.” The redhead smiled. “You’re nice.”

-

In Potions class after lunch, James, Lily and Severus all had fancy envelopes on their tables. So did Beth and Hubert.

“What’s this?” Sirius asked, snatching the letter out of his friend’s hands before he could open it. “Ooh, fancy.”

“Gimme!” James laughed. He grabbed the letter back, opened it, and began reading in a posh accent:

“Professor H. Slughorn cordially invites James Potter to a dinner in his office, along with other students displaying special talents and excellent conduct. Five o’clock, Nov - “

“Did he get the wrong James Potter?” Sirius interrupted. Peter snorted. “Because you do not have good conduct.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m talented.”

“No more talented than me.” Sirius sounded jealous.

“Who changed all the armor into pumpkins, again?” James asked smugly, unaware of his friend’s jealousy. Sirius grumbled and muttered, “You.”

“This is great!” Lily whispered excitedly to Severus at their table. He seemed unsurprised.

“Well, we’re both good at Potions,” he said confidently. “Though - “ he lowered his voice - “I do not understand why Rosenbaulo and Strong were invited. Strong’s good, but not excellent, and Rosenbaulo’s only talent is Herbology. She’s not great at much else.”

“Well,” Lily replied kindly, “Maybe they have other talents that Slughorn knows about.” Snape scoffed but said nothing.

“Good afternoon, class!” Slughorn boomed from his desk. “Today, we will be learning about a potion that will enable one to float.”

“You can float in salt water,” Sirius muttered to James. “Are we just making highly concentrated salt water?”

“A sensory deprivation tank!” Peter squealed, though his joke was too loud and caught the attention of most of the class.

“That is _not_ what we are doing,” Slughorn smiled, “Though, if you must know, Wizarding sensory deprivation tanks have seemed to work better than Muggle sensory deprivation tanks.

“The potion we will be making today is on Page 25 of your books, and can enable anyone who drinks it to float in any liquid substance. Per usual, any supplies you don’t own will be up in front, and I will come around to help each group with measuring the salt.”

The students scrambled to get started.

“Well,” a haughty voice said from behind Peter, “Of course there will be salt water involved.” The voice, of course, belonged to Ember. He confidently walked over to the balance nearest to him while Maya, his table partner, followed.

“How do you get 15 grams of salt?” she asked him, confused.

“Come here,” he said, gesturing to the balance. “So, you find how much the little container weighs,” he began, handing her the container. Following his instructions, she weighed the container.

“Great!” He looked at the balance. “15 plus.... okay. The container weighs seven point two grams, so that plus fifteen is twenty-two point two.”

“Oh.” Maya smiled. “Cool. So we just carefully add salt to the container now?” Ember nodded.

“And stop when we get to twenty-two point two.” He grinned shyly at her as Slughorn walked up.

“I see you didn’t need my help with the balance,” he boomed.

“Well, my dad’s a chemist,” Ember boasted. “He’s showed me some stuff.”

“What is a chemist, again?” the professor asked.

“It’s sort of like a Muggle Potions master, I guess,” the boy said. “My mom’s a Daily Prophet editor, so I’ve got a mix of both worlds.”

“Fascinating!” Slughorn nodded in approval. “I’ll just leave you students to it.” And he ambled off to another table.

“Well,” Maya said after a moment, “I’m glad you’re my partner.” Ember nodded.

“Me too. That you’re my partner, that is.” Maya laughed and they continued working.

-

Alice was studying in the library when Gideon and Fabian came up to her.

“Alice,” Fabian said.

“Sweet, sweet Alice,” Gideon added. “Though, to clarify, you’re not as wonderful as Dorcas because she’s my wife...” Alice rolled her eyes and laughed. Gideon and Dorcas had a running joke between them about being married, after Molly, the oldest Prewett, made a comment about how they would make a nice couple.

“What do you want?” she asked. “And make it quick. As you can see, I’m studying.”

“Can we borrow Felix?” Fabian asked.

“Why?”

“Well,” Gideon began, “We’ve been building it up all day - telling Frank he’s got a toad on his head -“

“After _your_ pet ended up in _our_ common room at the beginning of term -“

“On Frank’s head, to be precise -“

“So we want an actual toad to give him a fright, once he stops believing us.”

Smiling, Alice nodded. She reached into her bag and pulled her pet toad out, handing him to the boys.

“Just take care of him,” she told them. They nodded simultaneously.

“Oh, we will.” She waved them off and looked back at her book.

“Expelliarmus, hmm.” She got out her wand to practice the movement and incantation. “ _Expelliarmus!_ ” she whispered. A shriek and a crash told her she accidentally did the full spell.

“God! Whoever that was, why don’t you and Black just start a We Hate Mary Club?” Mary Macdonald stomped into view.

“Oops,” Alice whispered sheepishly as she blushed. “Sorry?”

Mary just glared, picked up her books, and stomped off.

She met Lily and Marlene outside the library.

“Why does everyone hate me?” she asked.

“We don’t hate you,” Lily said, laying a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “What happened?” Mary recounted what happened, as well as reminding them of the grease from earlier in the year.

“Sounds like you have bad luck,” Marlene shrugged.

“So God hates me,” she grumbled.

“Who’s God?” This got a laugh out of both Mary and Lily, who proceeded to explain the idea of Christianity and Judaism to Marlene.

“Speaking of which,” Lily said, “Did you get your jacket back?” Marlene rolled her eyes.

“No. Didn’t you see him in class today, wearing it over his robes?”

“Come to think of it,” Mary mused, “Yes. I’m so sorry.”

“‘Twas a faithful jacket,” Marlene remarked dramatically. “Maybe God hates me, too.” The girls burst into giggles as they headed to the Gryffindor tower.

-

“Pssst. Frank.”

“Hey, Frank.”

Frank turned to the twins, annoyed.

“Let me guess,” he said snarkily. “There’s a toad on my head.”

“Actually,” Fabian countered, “That is exactly what we were going to say.” Frank scoffed.

“Just because Alice’s toad escaped into the Gryffindor common room ONE TIME does not -“ At this point Gideon held a mirror up to Frank - “mean there’s always a toad on my - HOLY MERLIN’S SAGGY BALLSACK!” He turned to the Prewett boys. “I’m going to kill both of you. And Alice.”

-

Slughorn’s office was nicely decorated. Pleasant classical music came from a record player in the corner, and a relatively small table was set up in the center of the room.

“Welcome!” he boomed to James, Lily and Severus, who had walked in at the same time (much to the displeasure of Lily and Severus), wearing fancy velvet robes. “Your seats are over here.” He led them to their seats near the middle part of the table. Lily and Severus were next to each other, and James was next to Severus.

“Don’t get your hair grease on my food,” James muttered to the Slytherin, who was glaring at him also.

Slughorn led the last few stragglers - Frank Longbottom and Narcissa Black - to their spots and sat at the head of the table, across from Narcissa.

“It’s lovely to see all of you,” he said. “Shall we begin?” He waved his wand and the empty silver plates filled themselves with sandwiches, the goblets with pumpkin juice.

-

“I’m booooooored,” Sirius whined, draping himself across Peter’s lap. The other boy shoved him off.

“I’m _booooooooored,_ ” he repeated, this time to Remus, who simply moved his work and put it on top of him.

“Do your homework,” he said calmly. “Is that Marlene’s jacket?”

“Yeah,” Sirius answered. “But I don’t wanna do my homework! I’m waiting for James so we can do it together!” Remus sighed.

“Then wait until your boyfriend comes back. Just get off my lap.” Sirius rolled off Remus’ lap and stood up, scattering papers everywhere.

“All righty,” he laughed, vaulting over the couch. “Off to go find my boyfriend!” He skipped out of the portrait hole.

“They’re boyfriends now?” Peter asked. Remus snorted and shook his head.

“I doubt it.” He picked up a stray paper. “I just said it sarcastically, since they’re, like, joined at the hip.”

“Oh.”

Across the room, Mary stood up.

“I need to go to the library, now that it’s a bit later and people are less likely to _attack_ me,” she announced to Marlene. “Wanna come?”

“Sure.” The blonde nodded. “Though if I see Sirius ‘Jacket Thief’ Black I may have to take a detour.” Mary giggled.

“Deal.”

-

“As I was saying before,” Slughorn said, “Mr. Belby is absolutely wondrous at potions. I’ve never met a student in the NEWT level to be so consistent with that level of potion until him.” Belby, the seventh-year Slytherin, smiled awkwardly.

“You -“ the professor gestured to him - “Should meet up with Evans and Snape! The best first-year potions students I’ve had in a while. Who knows? Maybe you’ll invent another potion someday.” The two first years laughed awkwardly, but Belby, having experience, smiled and thanked the professor.

“And you!” Slughorn turned to Narcissa. “How are your parents?” She elegantly took a sip of her drink.

“Oh, they’re splendid,” she said. “Though it’s not always easy being one of the most influential families in Wizarding Britain.”

“Well, for a good reason! Every member of the Black family I’ve taught has been a splendid wizard or witch!”

Lily looked at Severus questioningly.

“Is that Sirius’ family?” she asked him.

“If he hasn’t gotten disowned yet,” he whispered back, causing both of them to giggle.

“Miss Evans!” Slughorn said. “Are you, perhaps, related to Alexander Evans, the retired Auror known for his Transfiguration skills?”

“No, sir.” Lily shook her head. “I’m the only witch in my family.”

“Well!” The professor seemed surprised. “I never would have guessed! Your talents are that of a pure-blooded wizard.”

“I highly doubt being a Muggle-born means _anything_ for my abilities,” Lily responded coolly. “If I recall from my textbooks, former Minister of Magic Nobby Leach was a Muggleborn.” Slughorn turned bright red.

“Ah, yes,” he said. “That is true. I apologize for my ignorance.”

After that, James made a crack about pumpkins, and everyone, remembering his stunt at Halloween, relaxed.

-

Like a predator waiting to pounce on its prey, Sirius stood behind a suit of armor, ready to hit anyone walking by with a spell he had recently learned.

He saw Dorcas with her broom, probably heading back in from a practice. Taking note of her shoes, he pointed his wand at her feet and whispered, “ _Calligae Colliga_.” Her shoelaces tied themselves together, causing her to trip as she walked by.

Picking up her broom, she looked down at her feet and noticed her shoelaces were tied together.

“Well,” she muttered, “I certainly did not do that.” She untied them and continued walking.

Pleased with the reaction and success of the spell, Sirius decided to try again. He noticed Marlene nearing, with Mary.

“Perfect,” he whispered, proceeding to shoot the spell at Marlene’s feet. She tripped and yelled in shock.

“What’s wrong?” Mary asked, helping her up.

“Shoelaces got tied together,” she grumbled. “I suspect Sirius Black.” She waddled over time the suit of armor Sirius was hiding behind. “Gotcha.” She smirked. “I won’t tell, if you give my jacket back.” Sirius also smirked.

“Like I said before,” he said, “Come and get it.” He sprinted down the hall.

“Sirius Black!” Marlene yelled. She took her shoes off and handed them to Mary. “I’m going to get my damn jacket.” She tore off after the boy.

“Well,” Mary muttered, “Going to the library with someone else’s shoes is still better than going to the library and getting attacked.” She trudged on, happy to be rid of distractions.

“Oh, look!” someone said, pulling her out of her happy moment. “A little Mudblood.” He smirked, and shook his head to get the mop of blond hair he had out of his face. Mary sighed.

“Hello, _Mulciber_.” She tried to continue toward the library, but he grabbed her arm and yanked her back. “Ow!” she exclaimed.

“Going to the library aren’t we?” the Slytherin asked. “Trying to learn spells to become an _actual_ witch?”

“Shut up,” Mary replied. “Just because I don’t come from a long line of ‘respectable wizards’ doesn’t mean I’m any less magical than you.”

“Yes it does. You probably can’t even do a _single spell_.” Mary rolled her eyes.

“Really?” She pointed her wand at him. “ _Slugulus Eructo_.” A jet of green light hit Mulciber in the stomach. “How’s that for a single spell?”

The boy opened his mouth in response, but instead of words, a large slug came out. Mary, pleased with herself, finally continued on to her destination.

A while later, Mulciber, still vomiting slugs, found himself in the path of James and Lily, who were heading to back to the Gryffindor Common Room after the Slug Club dinner. (That was apparently what it was called.) (It is also worthy to note that they were only together due to their shared house. Frank, while a part of the Slug Club, had gone to exact his revenge on the Prewetts. He planned to transfigure their pillows into spiders.)

“Who’s that?” James asked, pointing to the lump on the floor. He did not care to know any Slytherin except Narcissa, Lucius, Dorcas, and Severus.

Gently, Lily kicked the lump. Mulciber sat up, regurgitating yet another slug. Lily snorted.

“Serves you right,” she muttered. “Racist bastard.” James laughed.

“You know,” he began, “I did not approve of what Professor Slughorn said to you, expressing surprise at your talent based on your parents.” Lily just rolled her eyes and walked back to the dorm, faster than James.

They did not need to give the password for the door to open, for, right as they were arriving at the entrance, Gideon and Fabian ran out, screaming about spiders.

-

“I see you got your jacket back,” Lily said to Marlene a few days later, while they were hanging out in the common room.

“Yeah,” Marlene smiled, popping the jacket’s collar. “Took a while, but I did it.”  
They both laughed, and Remus stomped up to them.

“Marlene,” he said, “I hate you.”

“Why?”

“I lost one of my sweaters!” He pointed over to where James and Sirius were goofing off, Sirius wearing a large blue sweater. Both Lily and Marlene burst into giggles again.

Sirius skipped over to them.

“You have a distinct smell, Rem,” he told the owner of his stolen sweater.

“What do you mean?” Remus asked, his face heating up. He wondered if there was a way for someone to smell a werewolf.

“You smell like a nerd.” The girls cracked up again and Remus relaxed.

“Can I have my sweater back, then?” he asked, annoyed. Sirius shook his head and wrapped his arms around himself.

“No. I’m keeping it.”


	8. Detention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice gets caught in the Forbidden Forest; the Prewetts discover stand-up comedy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is No Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones.
> 
> Also, I highly suggest reading until the end. The ending is my favorite.

Alice was walking by Hagrid’s hut when Felix jumped out of her hands. Before she could react, he hopped off into the Forbidden Forest.

“Damn,” she whispered. Usually when he ran off, she could find him in a few hours. He was also typically in the castle. This time, she was worried, as there were supposedly dangerous creatures in the forest. She went in.

“Felix?” she called into the trees. “Come here, boy.” It was a bit dark in the forest, so she lit her wand up and continued looking. While it was frightening in the sense that something could come up and kill her at any moment, it was also peaceful and actually kind of pretty. She flashed her wand under a log after hearing a croak.

“There you are,” she sighed in relief, seeing her pet under the branch. She reached under and grabbed him. Still laying on the ground, she stroked his head. “Don’t run off like that.” He croaked in response.

“So, are there actually acromantulas in this first or is that just a rumor?”

Startled by the new voice, Alice jumped about ten feet in the air and screamed five octaves higher than normal.

-

“So what are you doing in here?” Alice asked, once she had calmed down.

“I was getting revenge on Gideon and Fabian,” Frank explained. “I turned their pillows into spiders, and Fabian screamed, ‘That’s as big as an acromantula!’ So I decided to check for myself. Because there’s a rumor that there’s one in the forest.” Alice laughed. “What about you?”

“Felix jumped out of my hands while I was passing Hagrid’s hut, and he went into the forest,” she said. “Since it was outside and the forest is reportedly dangerous, I figured I should get him back. If he runs off inside the school sometimes I’ll give him a little while before finding him.”

Frank laughed.

“Explains why there was a toad on my head one night while I was doing homework. The beast.”

“Aw,” Alice mocked. “Scared of a little toad?” She shoved Felix in Frank’s face.

“Agh!” the boy exclaimed, startled. “Yes!”

“Shame.” She smiled. “Felix seems to have taken a liking to you.”

“Noooo,” Frank moaned, laughing.

“And what are you two doing here?” a gruff voice asked. Filch, the caretaker, had caught them in the forest, that, true to its name, was forbidden.

-

The day of the Hogsmeade trip arrived. Sirius and James could not go, due to their pumpkin prank, and Mary could also not go, as Mulciber had ratted her out. She also got detention, which she figured was because he had gone to Filch, who, unlike McGonagall, let his preference for Slytherins get in the way of fairness sometimes.

She made sure to wake up earlier than the rest of her dorm so they wouldn’t ask questions. After getting dressed, she headed to Filch’s office, but, to her surprise, two people were already there.

“What’re you in for?” the boy asked, a twinkle in his eye. Mary was pretty sure his name was Frank.

“I hexed one of the people in my year to vomit slugs,” she explained casually. “I usually don’t resort to violence, but he was insulting my magical abilities on the basis of my lack of Wizarding parentage.”

“Ew,” Alice said, wrinkling her nose.

“You have a toad!” Frank lightly punched her shoulder. “Not that much better than slugs.”

“I was taking about blood purists.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you one of them?”

“I’m a pure blood,” Frank shrugged, “But I’m no superior to those who aren’t.” He smiled at Mary. “The real superior people are those who can make others puke slugs.” Her laugh was cut short by the caretaker’s annoyed voice, coming from behind them as he entered the room.

“Physical punishment ain’t allowed anymore,” he said. “Sadly. So you’re going to clear gum off the bottom of the desks. No magic.” He handed each of them a metal tool. “Just good, old-fashioned, elbow grease.”

The three students nodded. “Yes, sir.”

-

“Hey.” Sirius poked a sleeping James with his wand. “Heeeeyyyy.” When that failed, he grabbed his record player, turned up the volume, and let the melodious voice of Mick Jagger do the job for him.

It eventually worked, but before James awoke, Sirius heard Ember speak, which was a rare occasion. At least when he spoke to the other four guys.

“No satisfaction?” he muttered. “I can’t get no _sleep_.”

“What’s going on?” James asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“It’s Hogsmeade day,” Sirius answered excitedly.

“It’s Hogsmeade day!” Peter echoed from his bed. He frowned. “But you guys can’t go. Due to the AMAZING pumpkin prank!”

“Yeah, yeah.” James waved his hand dismissively and leaned closer to Sirius, lowering his voice. “Found anything?” The other boy shrugged.

“Thought I saw Madam Pomfrey walk through that psycho murder tree but looking back on it, I think it was just a dream.” James laughed and shoved his friend.

“No way that’s real. The sweet school nurse, up against the flailing branches of doom?”

“She seemed pretty formidable to a girl in the hospital wing who had a broken arm. Saw her when Marlene chased me up there. She was all -“ He raised his voice to a grumpy falsetto - “‘Take your medicine. Or else.’” James and Peter laughed. Sirius had elected not to mention he also saw Remus there. He figured he wouldn’t want anyone to know if he ever fell out of a tree. Why would his friend?

“Where’s Lupin?” Peter asked, mouth full of toothpaste.

“Probably studying in the library.” James shrugged.

“What if he misses all the fun?” In truth, Peter was worried James and Sirius would go off without him. He wanted another person to hang out with just in case.

“He’s punctual,” Sirius reassured him. “He knows when to come to stuff.” He looked at the clock. “Speaking of which, Pete here needs to get moving. Can’t miss the special guide.”

The ‘guide’ was the Head Boy, attractive seventh-year Kingsley Shacklebolt. He was mainly there to ensure the first years wouldn’t get lost on the way to their special trip.

“Meet me here at one,” he told them in his deep voice, once the group had reached the entrance to the village. They nodded and raced off.

“He’s so handsome,” Lily said to the other three girls once they were far enough away that he wouldn’t hear. Maya and Letitia nodded in agreement, while Marlene discreetly rolled her eyes.

“Let’s go to Honeydukes,” she said to the others. “I hear they’ve got the best sweets.” The others nodded in agreement and they headed off.

-

“Hey!” Sirius whispered loudly. James shook his head at him.

“Why are you whispering?” he said. “There’s nobody else around.”

“Good point.” He shrugged. “Anything? I found a tapestry, but it just goes to a classroom that three poor students are doing detention in.”

“Bless their poor hearts,” James said dramatically. “But I did see something behind a statue that may work.”

“Cool! Lead the way!” They raced to the fifth floor corridor, but not before grabbing James’ invisibility cloak.

“Oh, dear,” James said once they arrived at the statue of Gregory the Smarmy. “How do we work it?” Sirius shrugged and kicked it, near the bottom. A piece of the wall, barely large enough for an adult to fit through, slid out of place.

“That works,” James observed. They climbed through the hole and looked for a method of closing up the door. Giving up after a few minutes, they just pushed it shut.

“Cool,” Sirius whispered inside the tunnel. “How’d you discover this?”

“I just hit the wall just right,” James shrugged. “It sounded hollow.”

“Did you recognize the sound because it’s similar to what happens when you hit your own head?” James snorted and slapped him.

“Where d’you reckon this leads to?” Sirius shrugged.

“I guess we’ll find out.”

The passage, it turned out, led to a floorboard under the basement at Zonko’s. The two boys pushed at it, lifting it up just enough to see that the cellar was empty.

“Kinda heavy,” James observed. Sirius shook his head.

“Idiot.” He pulled his wand out. “ _Wingardium Leviosa._ ” With a soft creaking sound, the slab of wood levitated in the air, allowing them to get out of it.

“Let’s just hope we remember where it is.” James remarked as they left the basement. “Let’s find Peter and Remus.”

Above them, on the shop floor of the building, Gideon and Fabian had found a book they were quite excited about.

“ _Comedy for Muggles: Non-Magical Jokes Funny for All_ ,” the cashier muttered, ringing it up. “Interesting read.” The boys nodded excitedly and dashed off to the Three Broomsticks. They found seats and sat down.

“Good afternoon, boys,” Madam Rosmerta, the vibrant young bartender said to them. “What’ll it be?”

“Two butterbeers, please,” Fabian answered, slapping the money on the table. She took it and disappeared.

“Let’s look at the book!” Gideon exclaimed. He and his brother scrambled to open it.

“It says after people tell jokes, they play a drum to signify the punchline.”

“You mean like this?” Gideon hit the table and the cup with his utensils, imitating the drum sound. He quickly hid his fork and knife when Madam Rosmerta dropped their drinks off.

“Thanks,” Fabian told her. As she left, he looked at his brother. “You do the drumming. I’ll tell the jokes.”

-

James and Sirius saw Peter walking with Ember. Remus was nowhere to be found. Reading each other’s minds, they grinned. Hiding under the cloak, they ran up and tackled Peter. The smallest boy screamed.

“Who’s there?” he asked, drawing his wand. “Are you the spirits from the Shrieking Shack?”

Cackling, Sirius pulled the cloak off.

“Boo,” he giggled. Ember rolled his eyes.

“Bye,” he muttered, stomping off to the bookstore.

“Think he’ll tell?” Peter asked. The other boys shrugged.

“It’ll be worth it.” James grinned. “Seen Remus around?”

-

The door opened and closed at The Three Broomsticks, admitting James, Sirius and Peter. Knowing those three would appreciate the humor, Gideon and Fabian grinned at each other. Gideon tapped his empty glass with a spoon, causing most of the place to go silent. Fabian pointed his wand at his throat and whispered, “ _Sonorus_.”

“Heyyyyyy, everyone,” he boomed, getting up on the table. The patrons of the bar looked up, confused. “I was at a German history museum and saw a picture of Hitler’s shoes. They were tied in little Nazis.” Gideon imitated a cymbal crash. A few people chuckled, inspiring Fabian to continue.

“I was friends with a sea monster once.” He smirked. “I guess you could say we were Grindy- _bros_.” Many people groaned at this.

“I tried to go to an ice cream shop once,” Fabian joked, continuing after his brother had yet again done the cymbal crash. “The man at the counter said, ‘We don’t serve your kind here,’ so I said, ‘You mean wizards?’ He said, ‘I mean complete and utter disappointments.’” Most people laughed at that, but Sirius did not. Nobody seemed to notice.

“Many people think OWLs stands for Ordinary Wizarding Levels.” The redhead was very obviously trying not to laugh. “It actually stands for Obese Warthogs Like Sausages.” Nearly everyone in the pub was rolling. Madam Rosmerta finally noticed the distraction.

“Have you ever noticed how the job market is a dog-eat-dog world?” Fabian asked the restaurant-goers, oblivious to the fact that the bartender was bewitching some brooms. “That means you need to be two things to survive out there: a dog and a cannibal.” Snickers traveled through the crowd, as the brooms started flying toward the boys.

“Did you know,” the comedian began quickly, trying to get one last joke in, “That mispronouncing _Wingardium Leviosa_ may cause you to say, ‘ _Wingardium Leviosaaaaaaaaahhhhh_!’”

At this moment, three brooms started beating at the boys, so they ran out of the inn.

“Did you realize,” Gideon said to his brother, “That we got kicked out of The Three Broomsticks by three broomsticks?”

“Ha!” Fabian bellowed, before turning to Gideon in concern. “GIDEON!” he yelled. “I don’t know how to change my voice!”

-

“That,” James announced to his two friends over butterbeer, “Was beautiful.”

“I’m shedding a single tear,” Sirius added, dramatically wiping his tear-free face. Both of them looked at the clock on the wall. “We should probably head back. Before anyone gets suspicious.”

James nodded and got up, pulling the cloak out for Sirius to join him under.

“Bye, Peter,” he said. The third boy waved as the other two disappeared. They ran out of The Three Broomsticks, past one of the Prewett twins who was screaming, and to the Zonko’s basement.

“ _Wingardium Leviosa_ ,” James whispered clearly, pointing at the floorboard and causing it to lift up. They snuck under it and grinned at each other, running the way back to the castle.

“We’re coming back next weekend,” Sirius said. James nodded in agreement. “That’s the perfect place for Christmas shopping.”

-

He had just turned four. His father had spoken at the Ministry, saying Greyback deserved “nothing but death”.

He was close to five years old, asking his father to check for monsters under the bed.

“Oh, Remus,” his father had sighed fondly, “You’re getting to be too old for that.” But there was a monster under the bed that night, and he attacked under the light of the full moon.

He was five. A month had passed, and he felt his bones break and reform. Nothing had ever hurt so bad. His mother and father watched helplessly, his father growing increasingly distant in the days and months that followed the original attack. He screamed in pain as something, something human, tugged in his arm and he was yanked back into reality.

“Hey,” James whispered soothingly. He was sitting on Remus’ bed, rubbing his back. “It’s okay.”

“What are you doing here?” Remus asked.

“You were screaming in your sleep.” He smiled. “I figured nobody should have to deal with that.” Remus looked around.

“Did I -“

“Peter sleeps like a rock,” his friend interrupted, “And I’m pretty sure Ember would ignore us if we were brewing an illegal potion in the dorm.” His head shot up as he got an idea. “We should brew Polyjuice Potion and walk around as Snivellus all day!” This got a laugh out of Remus.

“Where’s Sirius?” he asked. James shrugged.

“Homework?” he supplied. “He probably doesn’t want anyone to see that he actually cares.” Remus laughed and James looked at the Honeydukes bar on his nightstand. “Do you want your chocolate?” He handed the bar to the far more traumatized kid.

“Thanks.” Remus took a bite of the chocolate. “Lily got it for me.” James mock gasped.

“Remus!” he whispered. “You’re making a move on my lady?!” They laughed for a few minutes and shared the chocolate, until they decided to look for Sirius.

-

Plagued with thoughts of his family, and the upcoming break, Sirius could not sleep. After sitting impatiently in bed for a few minutes earlier in the night, he decided to get up and walk around, ending up on a small balcony area next to the Gryffindor tower.

When he got back home, he’d get lectured on his sorting, yet again. And he would have to listen to Bellatrix mooning over “Lord Voldemort”, with whom she was obsessed. Would he even get gifts this year? He leaned against the wall and felt the cool night air as he looked up in the sky for his and his brother’s stars. He was vaguely aware of voices.

“The window’s open,” a voice he recognized as James said. “He’s gotta be here.”

“What if it’s Filch?” came the more mature voice of Remus. “Or any other professor?”

“Just shush and get under the cloak.”  
He heard a sigh and the rustling of James’ cloak, and then the partially open window opened some more.

“Ickle firsties out for a nighttime stroll, eh?” Sirius said in his best impersonation of Filch. An invisible hand smacked him.

“You were up here first.” James pulled off the cloak, grinning. “What’s going on?” He sat down next to his friend. Remus joined them.

“Holidays,” Sirius told them quietly. “I have to go back home, and face my family.”

“Who says you have to?” James asked.

“She’ll be mad if I don’t come.” He sighed.

“So?” Remus added, “If she’s mad she’ll have until the summer to calm down.” Sirius grinned at him.

“I suppose you’re right,” he mused. “Are you guys staying?” James and Remus both shook their heads.

“Might be lonely,” James told him. He shrugged.

“No more lonely than at home with a bunch of people who hate me. At least they won’t try to teach me the proper ways of a ‘growing pure blood wizard.’ I’ll just bond with Binns over Goblin Rebellions.”

“Sounds boring,” Remus quipped.

“Better than my mom.” Sirius sighed and looked back up at the stars. The other boys followed suit. “Thanks.”

-

“You’re not going home?” Lily asked Severus as they walked to the Great Hall. He shook his head.

“I prefer it here,” he told her. “But I will miss you.” She laughed as they parted ways to go to their separate tables. He sat down next to Dorcas, mainly because there was an open seat next to her. He didn’t like her. She was too annoyingly friendly.

“You’re in for a treat today,” she told him. He ignored her, but she didn’t shut up. “Lucius boasted he’d be getting a letter, so you know what _that_ means.” As the owls flew overhead, the Slytherin in question looked up.

“Ah, yes,” he sighed. “My letter will come soon.” He looked at Narcissa. “You’re likely invited to my family’s Christmas party.” She laughed.

“Aren’t I always?” she asked jokingly, but then elbowed him as the doors began to open.

“Here it comes,” said Lucius confidently. The doors to the Great Hall opened to display a bright, shiny white peacock with a letter in its mouth. It strutted up to Malfoy, who took the letter and stroked its head.


	9. A Holiday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mistletoe prank goes unexpectedly; Sirius asks Narcissa for a favor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is You Can’t Always Get What You Want by The Rolling Stones

“Anyone new?” James asked, returning to an alcove near the Great Hall, where the mistletoe the four boys had hung up at the door was waiting. “I brought snacks!”

“You’re lucky,” Sirius said, pulling down his binoculars, which were solely for dramatic effect. They could all see the door just fine without them. “You missed my cousin and her stupid boyfriend sticking their tongues down each other’s throats.” Remus snatched the binoculars out of his hands while Peter grabbed a snack.

“Dorcas and the twins are coming,” he noted. They shut up and watched as Fabian pointed to the mistletoe.

“Gideon,” he smirked, “You should fulfill Molly’s dreams.”

“Only if you also do it,” was the reply. Dorcas, laughing, stood between them as they prepared to both peck her on the cheek. In a cliche move, at the last moment, she ducked, causing them to kiss each other. They entered the hall laughing.

“You know,” Sirius mused, shoving popcorn into his mouth, “This is actually a really good way to spend the last day before holiday break.”

“Watching sexual tension erupt between two friends?” James smirked.

“Why yes, Jamie. Or two unsuspecting people who enter at the same time.” He was referring to a few minutes earlier, when a quiet second year from Hufflepuff nearly crashed into a Ravenclaw. There was, of course, the notable moment when Marlene and Bonnie entered at the same time, noticing the mistletoe. Marlene had kissed the other girl on the cheek, blushing profusely, but the boys did not notice.

“Here comes Evans!” James exclaimed, grabbing the binoculars. “This is my chance.” He nodded at the other boys, who shook their heads when he went to casually stand next to the mistletoe.

“Hey Evans,” he called, not noticing Severus walking with her. “Mistletoe.” Much to the surprise of the three hidden boys, she smiled and started walking faster, approaching the fateful area. However, she shoved Severus in front of her.

“Well?” she asked the two boys, tapping her foot. Both were shooting daggers at her. “You know the rules of mistletoe.”

James frowned and did it as quick as possible, his mouth barely touching the other boy’s face. Snape swore revenge on him, and the Gryffindor boy sprinted back to the hideout, grabbing the first goblet he could to drink something.

“Eugh,” he said, making a face at whatever he just drank. “What is this?”

“Pain potion.” Remus took the goblet back.

“Why?”

“I’m going to take a wild guess and say it’s because he was in pain,” quipped Sirius. “Why’d _you_ drink it?”

“I needed to get ...that _taste_ out of my mouth.” James made a face again and grabbed a different goblet, one filled with pumpkin juice.

“Well,” Peter said quietly, “How was it?” James glared at him.

“Slimy. And disgusting.”

-

“Have you packed yet?” Narcissa’s elegant voice drawled in Sirius’ ear. He screamed and dropped his books.

“Ahh! No!” He reached down to pick them up. “I assume you mean for home?” She nodded, looking judgmental. “I’m not going.”

“Why not?” she sneered. “Want to hang out with your _friends_?”

“Well I certainly don’t want to spend time with my _family._ ”

Narcissa ignored that and started listing all the flaws of his friends.

“Let’s see,” she muttered. “Potter’s pure blood and rich, and he would be attractive if it weren’t for his... complexion, but he’s a _blood traitor_. The fat kid’s...well ...fat, and he’s not a very good wizard, is he? And that brings us to Lupin. Not only are his scars _absolutely horrid_ to look at, his father works in the ministry and is apparently married to a _Muggle_. Also, he made a half-breed so mad that he -“

“I don’t care, Narcissa,” Sirius interrupted. “I don’t care that they don’t fit the ‘qualifications’ of our family. They’re my _friends_. _They_ wouldn’t write to my mother to tell her ‘unsettling’ news about me, just in the hope that she’d take it out on me.” His cousin sighed, rolling her eyes.

“Fine,” she grumbled. “If you won’t come because your new friends have poisoned your mind, come because you need to see your family.”

“Oh!” He smirked. “You mean Andromeda? Is she coming?” He laughed bitterly as Narcissa’s face twisted in rage.

“Don’t. Mention. Her. Name.”

“What about Alphard? He’s not very popular either, is -“

“What about your brother?” Surprisingly, her face had gotten softer. Sirius stopped in his tracks. “He’s missed you, I’m sure. And I know for a fact that you don’t hate him, because you two and - you guys always went on adventures together at family gatherings. If you won’t come for anything else, come for him.”

“Can you do a favor for me?” he asked quietly, inspired by her near-mention of Andromeda. She looked at him, listening. “Can you give him this?” He rummaged through his bag to pull out a small parcel. “I was going to mail it to him, but... Just, if you give it to him in private, Mother and Father won’t be as mad.”

“You didn’t get them anything, did you?” Narcissa asked. Sirius shook his head. “I’ll do it. But I want something in return.”

“What? Money?”

“Money would work.” She inspected the parcel. “Or, you could get me the specific necklace I wanted from Knockturn Alley and I won’t tell your parents you only got your brother a gift.” Sirius sighed.

“Do I get any details about this necklace, or am I supposed to just try to read your mind?”

“It’s at Moribund’s. Dragon-hide choker, with emeralds and onyx crystals, lined with silver. I’ll give you until the end of holiday break.”

“Oh! Thank you!” Pleased that he had a simple task to do, Sirius ran up and hugged his cousin.

Looking uncomfortable, she said, “Why are you hugging me?”

-

Remus was glad that a full moon fell over the break period. Maybe if the wolf was in a familiar setting, the transformation wouldn’t be that bad. He didn’t share this with James or Peter, who were excitedly discussing the prospect of Christmas.

“Sirius and I snuck into Hogsmeade to get gifts,” James explained. He handed Remus and Peter their presents. Peter’s was a supply of “Fan Favorites” from Honeydukes. Remus got a book titled, _Magical Education from Around the World._ Peter gave both of them nose-biting teacups from Zonko’s. He, too, had used the Hogsmeade trip to get gifts for his friends.

“I didn’t go to Hogsmeade,” Remus told the two, shyly. “But I did have extra Tupperware containers that I put snacks from the house-elves in.” He handed they the containers.

“Think my mum has one of these,” Peter observed, running a hand over the plastic container. Per usual, he was more interested in the food inside. James, however, was still marveling at the container.

“This is brilliant!” he gasped in awe. Remus smiled awkwardly, glad they liked the gift.

Outside of their compartment, Gideon and Fabian noticed James looking at the Tupperware container.

“He’s like Arthur,” Fabian observed. Gideon nodded.

“What’d you reckon we’ll get from him this year?” he asked.

“Tissues last year, rubber ducks the year before that...” Fabian grinned. “Maybe rubber ducks again.”

“Yes,” Gideon agreed. “You can’t go wrong with rubber ducks.”

-

When Lily stepped off the train, her parents smiled and waved. She grabbed her trunk and supplies and ran up to them, giving both of them hugs.

“Where’s Petunia?” she asked them. Her mother smiled sadly.

“She didn’t want to come across the barrier,” she answered. “Though, it is quite an odd entrance.” Lily nodded, understanding her sister’s gesture.

“Well?” her father asked. “How has it been?”

“Really fascinating.” They ran to reenter the non magical world. “Though, I may get a few packages by owl in the next few days. Mary doesn’t celebrate Christmas, but she said her family still gives gifts for Hanukkah, so she said she’d send me one. I already gave her hers.”

“Is magic school interesting?” Mrs. Evans asked. Lily nodded and launched into an explanation of Hogwarts. Petunia glared at her.

“Is _freak_ school interesting?” she asked obnoxiously, quiet enough that the two adults couldn’t hear. “But I’ll have you know. I don’t care.”

-

Fleamont and Euphemia Potter were anxiously waiting for their son, who exited the train with two other boys.

“How was term?” Fleamont asked James. The boy grinned.

“Amazing,” he said. “I’ve made so many new friends.”

“That’s fantastic,” his mother told him.

“Speaking of which,” James continued, “I have a question I need to ask you.”

“Anything for you.” Euphemia hugged him.

A few feet away, Gideon and Fabian walked up to their mother, as well as their sister and her husband. Molly was holding a baby carrier.

“Who’s baby is that?” Fabian asked, pointing. She smiled.

“This is Bill,” she told them. “Our son.” The more serious twin nodded, slightly confused, but Gideon stood there, gaping.

“YOU HAVE A CHILD?!” he screamed.

-

The only two first years left in the Gryffindor tower on Christmas Day were Sirius and Marlene. Marlene thought it was a bit lonely, but Sirius thought it was comparable to normal summers at his house, without the blood-purist ideologies and obnoxious judgmental comments. He was at least glad to be able to play his records without bothering anyone.

For example, the night before, he had dramatically flopped onto his bed, singing, “But if you try sometimes, you might find...” He jumped over to James’ empty bed and belted out the next line: “YOU GET WHAT YOU NEEEEEEEEED!”

Marlene awoke Christmas Day to a pile of gifts on her bed: a new set of dress robes from her brother, a box of quills from her sister, various candies from her fellow first year girls, and a small envelope from her parents. She opened it to reveal a picture of the newest Cleansweep broom model.

 _We got you a new broom,_ the letter read. _Since first years can’t have brooms at school, we’ll keep it safe here until next year._

Marlene smiled and put the letter aside. Doing a double take, she realized there was a second letter. She opened it. Inside was a clipping from a magazine article, about proper beaters’ gloves, and also another letter.

_Marlene,_

_You said you wanted to be a beater. I don’t know much about that, but I figured this article may be helpful._

_Dorcas_

That was nice, Marlene thought, but she hadn’t gotten the other girl a gift. She’d have to apologize.

In the boys’ dorm, Sirius awoke to a loud crack and the weight of a very ugly elf on top of him. He looked up into the eyes of his family’s house-elf.

“Bloody hell!” he screamed, startled. “Kreacher! What are you doing here?” The elf hopped off of the boy, disdainfully.

“Where did Young Ungrateful Master learn such foul language?” he asked.

“One of my ‘blood traitor’ friends. He’s also taught me how to not be an arsehole like the rest of my family.” Sirius smirked.

“Young Ungrateful Master must learn to watch his tongue,” Kreacher muttered. “Mistress wants to know where Young Ungrateful Master is and why he is not at home.”

“‘Young Ungrateful Master’ is at Hogwarts because he didn’t want to suffer through a holiday with his family,” Sirius quipped. “After the whole, ‘You’re a disappointment to the family’ Howler business. Who would want to spend Christmas with people who think they’re a disappointment?” Kreacher rolled his eyes and disappeared, so Sirius got up, nearly tripping over a small pile of gifts. He counted them, finding five. He knew there would be three, one from each of his friends, and he suspected Andromeda may be behind the fourth one. That left the fifth one, which was the largest of all the packages. He got to opening them: a nose-biting teacup from Peter, a slab of fudge from Remus, a book of pranks from James. The fourth small package, as he predicted, was from Andromeda and Ted. It was a small stuffed black sheep, based on her favorite joke that the two of them were the black sheep of the family. That left the large package, which was very obviously addressed to him. He opened the envelope on top and read the letter.

_Sirius,_

_James has said you wouldn’t be getting many Christmas presents from your family, since they aren’t particularly fond of you. Just so you know, you are always welcome at our house, and I hope you find this present the first of many._

_Fleamont and Euphemia Potter_

Taken aback, he slowly opened the package, revealing a leather jacket somewhat like the one he stole from Marlene after Halloween. He put it on and decided to go to the Owlery to write a letter of thanks to the Potters.

Once there, he ran into Marlene. He wrote the letter and sent it before she noticed him, and when she did, she snorted as she took a look at his jacket.

“Does this mean you won’t steal mine again?” she asked, a hand on her hip. He laughed.

“Maybe,” he said. “Maybe not. Who knows?” She sent her own letter and turned back to him.

“What are you doing here instead of at your house?”

“Didn’t want to go home.” He shrugged. “What about you?”

“My parents and my siblings are on a trip for the Ministry. Nobody was home.” They stared at each other for a few moments, until Sirius spoke up again.

“Are we the only Gryffindor first years left here?” he asked.

“Unless you have anyone else in your dorm, then I guess so.”

“Well.” He held his hand out to her. “Shall we explore the castle?” She laughed.

“You’re an idiot.”

-

Lily sat at her window, wistfully looking outside. She’d enjoyed seeing her parents, who were impressed with the Honeydukes chocolate she had gotten them, but Petunia was being downright mean. When she had opened her present, she threw the chocolate down and claimed she would never eat “freak food”. This had let to a discussion with her parents, and Lily had decided to retreat to her room. She pulled out a pen - it was nice to not write with a quill for once - and wrote a letter to Severus.

_Dear Sev,_

_How are the holidays at Hogwarts? Mine was okay. My parents were impressed with the bits of the magical world I brought home - only some chocolate and a moving picture - but my sister seems to hate me now. Everything she says to me is in addition to the word “freak”._

_As much as I love my parents and my sister, I’m wondering if I should stay at school next year during the holiday break. I could acquaint my parents with owl postage enough that they could get a Christmas gift, but I could be around people who get me more. At least the magical part._

_Hope you’re okay,_   
_Lily_

-

“Don’t be scared,” Alice was telling Frank. They had both decided to stay for break, and she was sitting with him at the Gryffindor table, attempting to help him get over his fear of toads. “Just reach out and pet him.” Using one hand to steady Felix, she used her other hand to guide Frank’s hand toward him.

“He feels weird,” Frank observed, “But I guess when he’s not croaking on top of my head, he’s okay.” Alice smiled.

“You’re crazy,” she told him. “How can you be scared of such a sweet guy?” He laughed.

“ _You’re_ crazy. How can you not be afraid of toads?”

A few seats away, Sirius and Marlene were ignoring their banter, having only stopped in the dining hall to get a snack before continuing their exploration outside.

“What’s wrong with your home?” Marlene asked once they stepped outside. “Wow. It’s cold.”

“Of course it’s cold.” He picked up a snowball and lobbed it at her. “My parents are... how do you put it... bigots. They’re obsessed with the ‘superiority of pure blood wizards’ or some shite like that.” She nodded, chucking a snowball at him in retaliation.

“I kinda get it,” she said as they continued walking. “My parents... well, they’re not blood purists, but they are really uptight about other things, like... the fact that I’m - the fact that I like girls.”

“Well,” Sirius replied, “I would say you’re always welcome at my house, but that is definitely _not_ the case.” Marlene laughed. “When my cousin got disowned for marrying a Muggle-born a few years back, it made me realize that people shouldn’t be ostracized for things they can’t control. Like falling in love, or being a werewolf.”

“Where’d the werewolf thing come from?” They rounded a corner and began walking toward a large tree. Sirius shrugged.

“I remember my family members discussing a case about this one dude who was a werewolf, like, a really long time ago. They, obviously, were against the man just because he turned into a raging monster every full -ow!” The tree they had approached had swung a branch down and smacked him off his feet. He tugged Marlene’s sleeve.

“Get back,” he told her. “It’s the murder tree!” She obeyed and jumped back, dragging him along.

“Considering all the moving staircases,” she said, helping him to his feet, “I should not have been surprised at the fact that the tree branches started flailing around.” Still, she took a few steps closer and ducked when the branches came her way.

“Are you crazy?” Sirius yelled. “You’ll get killed!”

“There’s like, a tunnel at the bottom of it,” she said, pointing.

“Bloody hell.” He squinted at the tunnel entrance. “There is. Does that mean - “

As the branches started waving around again, he grabbed his wand and ran toward the tunnel entrance, wildly poking at random spots. Finally, the tree went still.

“Wow,” Marlene gasped, coming toward the entrance. “Where’d you learn to do that?”

“I saw Madame Pomfrey poke something with a stick and then go into this tunnel one morning.” He shrugged. “I thought I just dreamed it. Apparently not.”

“Apparently not,” Marlene agreed. “Think this is where she keeps her extra supplies?”

“Maybe.” They continued their walk through the tunnel, and after what seemed like ages, reached the entrance of a building. Both kids looked out the window.

“I think,” Marlene whispered, grabbing Sirius’ wrist and backing away slowly, “This is the Shrieking Shack.” He looked at her. “Y’know, the haunted place?” Recognition flashed on his face.

“We should probably get out of here,” he agreed, and they sprinted back to the tree.

-  
“Hey,” Sirius said, as James unpacked his stuff.

“Hey, yourself,” he replied.

“Thank you for the jacket. I really appreciate it.” James shrugged, and then walked over to Sirius and gave him a hug.

“I know it’s only halfway through first year,” he said, “But I know you’re my best friend.” He smiled. “And you deserve a special gift. Don’t let anyone make you think you don’t deserve shite.” Sirius smiled back, and the two hugged again.

-

The day the rest of the students returned was the day Sirius got the necklace. He walked over to Narcissa at breakfast.

“Here’s your necklace,” he said to her. “Thanks for giving Reg my gift.”

“You’re welcome,” she muttered in response. “He liked it.”  
She pulled the necklace out of the box, and attracting the attention of the people around her.

“Is it weird that I want to wear it?” Sirius asked her. She glared at him.

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I just love Sirius and Narcissa being sort of chaotic cousins.


	10. Life is a Box of Chocolates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus practices some hexes; Lily and James get the same idea after a Slug Club dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: I Want to Hold Your Hand by The Beatles

“I want to find whoever tipped Frank Longbottom off,” Eleanor Mackenzie was saying to Dorcas during their Defense class, “And punch them in the nose.” She pointed her wand at Dorcas. “ _Expelliarmus_!” Evidently she aimed wrong, because the other girl flew up into the air and hit the wall.

“Ow,” she mumbled, getting up to hit Eleanor with the same spell. “Why?” She aimed her wand. “ _Expelliarmus_!” Eleanor’s wand shot straight up in the air, where Professor Marsh caught it as she was walking by.

“Excellent work, girls,” the teacher told them, returning Eleanor’s wand to her.

“Someone told him when the next Slug Club dinner was,” she explained after Professor Marsh walked off. “So he convinced the Gryffindor Quidditch captain to schedule a practice that day.” She rolled her eyes. “So he doesn’t have to go.”

“What’s wrong with them?” Dorcas shot another disarming spell at her dueling partner, who sighed.

“I have better things to do. And most of the people in the group are annoying. This one first year seems nice, but...” Eleanor made a face as she trailed off.

“But what?”

“She’s a Gryffindor, and she’s a Muggleborn. They’re taught early on to steer clear of Slytherins.” She shrugged and shot another spell at Dorcas, this time aiming properly and only launching her wand into the air.

-

“Hey Peter,” James said. They were sitting in the Great Hall, working on homework. Peter looked up. “Can I see your History of Magic notes for today?” He nodded and handed them over.

“Me too,” Sirius added. “I fell asleep.” Remus rolled his eyes, looking tired. Noting his obvious exhaustion, Sirius turned on him. “You can’t tell me you stayed awake the whole time!” Remus smirked.

“Given that I did,” he said, “Yes I fucking can.” Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but stopped suddenly in surprise. A bunch of bats flew out of his nose.

“What the hell was that?” he asked once it was over. James shrugged.

“Snivellus?”

As James predicted, Severus was admiring his handiwork across the hall, to the applause of some older Slytherins.

“Nice,” Narcissa said to him. “I especially loved your target.” She laughed, along with other people who knew of the Black family.

“What’s wrong with him?” Dorcas asked from the corner. Narcissa looked at her pityingly, like she was a child who didn’t know better.

“He’s a blood traitor, Meadowes.”

“So?” Eleanor cut in, walking up to the group.

“So he thinks Mudbloods deserve the same rights as good pure-blooded wizards.” She waved her hand around as if to say, ‘duh’.

“Well,” Dorcas responded, “They do.”

“Yeah.” Eleanor nodded. “They’re witches and wizards like the rest of us.”

“I see.” Narcissa smiled, with little humor. “You guys are blood traitors too.” Both Dorcas and Eleanor were about to respond when a small voice rang out through the small crowd.

“Does it make you feel special?” someone asked. “That your boyfriend’s going to buddy up with You-Know-Who after he’s done with school?” All eyes turned to Amelia Dreighton, the little first year who had spoken. She smirked as she continued and walked forward.

“Does it make you feel special how you’re probably going to follow the lead of your eldest sister, also?”

“How do you know that?” Narcissa asked menacingly.

“My mom’s a Daily Prophet correspondent.” Amelia looked very smug. “I know shite. Like how I know that Snape is -“ Before she could say anything else, she was thrown against the wall, wind knocked out of her. Severus stood in front of her, glaring, wand still pointed at her.

-

The next Slug Club dinner had the same number of people as the previous time, despite Frank’s absence with Quidditch practice. The previous dinner, Lucius had prefect duty and was unable to come. This time, he came, because he was the type of guy to eat up attention. Other than that, the usual crowd - Beth Rosenbaulo, Hubert Strong, Severus, James, Lily, Eleanor, Narcissa, Damocles Belby, Janna Densen, Bonnie Wren, and Lindy Bagnold - was there.

“I almost forgot,” Professor Slughorn said after welcoming everyone. He conjured another chair. “Mary will be joining us. She has an excellent - though against the rules - Slug-vomiting spell.” He chuckled, and Mary shyly sat down across from Lily, who grinned at her.

“Now!” the professor said, raising his goblet, “You would not believe that Quidditch match before the Christmas break...”

-

“Sorry I’m late,” Dorcas said, sliding into a seat next to Marlene. “First year ended up in the hospital wing for some cheek. What did I miss?” Marlene laughed.

“Just Alice imitating her toad so Frank dropped the Quaffle,” she answered. “Peter, of course, applauded when Fabian caught it.” Sofia Lopez, the captain and one of the beaters, looked at the stands. Dorcas muttered an expletive and ducked.

“I’m not supposed to be here,” she explained. “I just came to hang out and watch a practice, but with the Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry, they’ll probably think I’m spying.” Marlene nodded in understanding as her friend poked her head back over the seat to watch.

“All right!” Sofia shouted, landing her broom and dismounting it. “Let’s talk strategy.”

Dorcas plugged her ears.

“Tell me when it’s over,” she told Alice and Marlene. They both nodded.

“Next match is against Slytherin,” the captain continued, once everyone was on the ground. “They have a fairly strong team, but no real weak spot, or particularly talented section we need to watch out for. Therefore, everyone needs to be on their best game.”

“Aye aye, captain!” Gideon, Fabian and Frank saluted her before bursting into giggles. James Lewis, the serious sixth-year beater, rolled his eyes. Genevieve, one of the chasers, shrugged, as if to say, ‘What can you do?’ Jeanne, the final member of the team, decided to weigh in.

“You know,” she muttered, a smile spreading on her face, “If any of you three weren’t actually ugly, I might actually laugh.” This sent everyone except Sofia and Lewis into laughter.

“Are you done?” the captain asked, tapping her foot.

“We aren’t going to beat the Slytherins with a sense of humor,” Lewis added.

“Why not?” Sirius muttered, up in the stands. “Not like _they_ have one to compete with us.” Peter, behind him, laughed, and Remus shot him a small smile. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” Peter shook his head.

“No way,” he said adamantly. “I’m not leaving this incredible show for whatever you want to do.” Sirius put a hand to his heart and gasped.

“I’m offended.” He turned to Remus. “Are you particularly attached to this practice?” The other boy shook his head, prompting Sirius to grab his hand and pull him along. “Then let’s go.”

-

“I have gifts for all of you,” Slughorn announced at the end of the dinner. He disappeared into his office and returned with fourteen small boxes. He dropped them on the table. “Each of you take one.”

“I found these over the summer,” he explained. “Muggle chocolate boxes. Not as good as Honeydukes, but still, very, very good.”

Lily read the box and grinned, recognizing the Russell Stovers label.

“My grandmother loves these!” she exclaimed. Mary laughed and nodded.

“Is any grandmother an actual grandmother if they don’t?” she joked. The rest of the people at the table looked somewhat confused. “Muggle grandmothers,” she explained. Most people nodded in recognition, except for Snape, Malfoy, Narcissa, Belby, and Strong, who looked at the girls with silent disapproval.

“Well,” Slughorn chuckled, “I’m partly convinced magic is involved in them because they’re so good.”

“Wouldn’t that break the International Statute of Secrecy?” Lindy asked.

“I wouldn’t know. Maybe you could ask your aunt.” Lindy’s aunt, Millicent Bagnold, was involved in the Ministry of Magic. “Of course, that whole comment was a joke,” the professor continued. “It _is_ incredible how Muggles get by without magic. They do deserve some recognition for that.”

James nodded at that comment. Lily and Mary looked slightly uncomfortable.

“Well, then,” Slughorn said with a wave of his hand. “Off you go, unless you have any questions!”

-

“Where are we going?” Remus asked Sirius, who was running and dragging him along.

“First,” he said, grinning, “We’re getting snacks.” They reach the large fruit painting, and Sirius reached up to tickle the pear with his wand to open the door. As soon as they opened it, a bunch of house-elves ran up to them.

“What does Mister Lupin need?” squeaked Boley, the house-elf Remus had befriended. Remus, confused, glanced at Sirius.

“He wants snacks,” he said, pointing to Sirius. One of the elves let out an ear splitting shriek.

“Oooh,” she squealed, “Holly does love preparing those!” In a split second she had prepared a picnic basket with a salad, two packets of crisps, grapes, pumpkin juice, and chocolate. “Enjoy!”

“Oh!” Sirius exclaimed, surprised. He took the basket. “Thanks...”

“Holly!”

“Thanks, Holly.” He nodded in the direction of the elves. “I’ll bring this back tomorrow.”

“You don’t have to,” Boley said, but Sirius ignored him. Once they were out of the kitchen, Sirius turned to Remus.

“They are so much nicer than my house-elf,” he said.

-

“Hey, Marlene,” Lily said to the other girl as she slid into one of the chairs in the common room. “Have you seen Remus? I needed to give something to him.” She gestured to the box of chocolates she was guarding.

“That’s sweet,” Mary observed. Lily remained nonchalant.

“What? He’s my friend.”

“Haven’t seen him since he left the Quidditch stands with Sirius,” Marlene answered. She grinned, prepared to make a joke. “They’re probably out having a romantic picnic followed by a refreshing frolic in the forest.” Lily snorted while Mary frowned at the two of them.

“Wouldn’t that be... wrong?” she asked. Marlene suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

“Marold,” she laughed, “It was a joke.”

“‘Marold?’” Mary stared at her, confused.

“You know, Harry’s short for Harold, Mary’s short for Marold.” Lily laughed and Mary shook her head.

“I don’t get it,” she said. “Mary is my full first name.”

“Just forget about it,” Lily told her, patting her on the shoulder. “As for the ‘romantic picnic’, I feel like it maybe isn’t wrong, just different. I mean, in old times, witches got burned at the stake and they weren’t doing anything wrong. They were just different.” Mary nodded.

“That makes sense.” She frowned at Marlene. “‘Marold’ doesn’t.”

Across the room, James had a similar question as Lily for Peter.

“Where’s Remus?” he asked his friend, who merely shrugged.

“I have no clue,” he said. “He and Sirius just ran off halfway through watching the practice.”

“Oh.” James pointed to his box of chocolates. “I have a gift for him.” Realizing he had not added to the Quidditch comment, he shot his head up. “How was the practice?”

-

Marlene was correct on one account: Remus and Sirius were having a picnic, on the balcony Sirius had found before Christmas break. They had no plans to frolic in the forest, though, and the picnic was not to be described as romantic, solely for the reason that the two boys were not yet teenagers and romance was far from their minds.

“So,” Sirius said, biting a piece of bread, “You’ve heard about my family. How about yours?”

“Well...” Remus trailed off, trying to decide what to share. He figured it would be okay to say stuff, if he was really vague. “My mum’s a Muggle. She takes care of me most of the time. My dad’s a wizard, and he works at the Ministry. He said some stupid things when I was young, but whenever he doesn’t work he always tries to be a really good father.”

“I’m jealous of your family.”

“Why? We’re just as dysfunctional as any other family.” Sirius looked him in the eye.

“Do you know what the Cruciatus Curse is?” Remus shook his head. “It causes pain to the victim. My parents started using it on me when I was eight.” Remus gasped.

“Oh, Sirius,” he said, “I’m so sorry.” He took his friend’s hand and hugged him for a long time.

-

Lily approached Remus at breakfast the next morning.

“Hey,” she said, sitting next to him. “Where are your friends?” He snorted.

“Sleeping,” he replied. She laughed.

“Well, we got chocolate at our last Slug Club Dinner. I figured I’d give mine to you, considering your obvious love of chocolate.” She pulled the box of chocolates out of her bag, but Remus shook his head and shoved the box back to her.

“I can’t take it,” he said. “It’s yours.” In response, Lily shoved the box in his direction with a large amount of force.

“Let people do things for you,” she told him. “And not just -“ she lowered her voice - “At the time of full moons.” She dropped the box next to him. “Take it. I insist.”

She stood up to go sit with Mary and Marlene, nearly colliding with James. He blushed.

“Hey,” he said, drawing the word out. “I was just coming to give this to my pal Remus.” He held up his own box of chocolates, and his friend shook his head.

“No,” he demanded. “I already got one.” Lily sighed and yanked the box out of James’ hands.

“Jesus, Remus,” she muttered. “Take the damned chocolate.” She threw the box at him, and he caught it. Then, looking at James, she said, “Our friend needs to stop being such a self-sacrificial idiot.”

James was partially confused, but also quite pleased, as he and Lily just had an entire conversation without her rolling her eyes at him.

“I have to agree with her,” he told Remus. “Take the chocolate. Now, tell me. What’s a Jesus?”

-

A few days later, Remus was sitting in his bed, eating chocolate, finishing his homework, and listening to The Beatles, when the door slammed open. Ember entered, excitedly, holding a large package. Reciprocating what the fifth Gryffindor boy did to him, Remus ignored him. After a while, he looked up.

“What’s that?” he asked, gesturing to the large curtain that was set up.

“A partition,” Ember replied, matter-of-factly. “I got permission from the house-elves. Now, it’s like I have my own little room. So I can ignore you four and do my own studying, outside of the library.”


	11. Dorcas and the Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Gryffindor-Slytherin quidditch match gets intense; Sirius is a terrible wingman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum

“All right,” Sofia said, pacing in front of her teammates. She stopped to face them. “This is it.”

“The big game,” Fabian nodded.

“Yes.”

“The one with the highest stakes,” Gideon added.

“Yes,” Sofia agreed.

“The hot tamale,” Frank cut in. Not exactly listening, Sofia nodded again.

“Yes, the - wait, what?” The three fourth-year boys giggled and Sofia sighed.

“All right,” she said. “We’re up against Slytherin, and we all know they don’t play fair. But we will. Gideon: Look for nothing except that Snitch. Genevieve, Fabian and Jeanne: score as much as possible. Frank: let _nothing_ through those goalposts. And James and I will hit the Bludgers toward the Slytherins with everything we’ve got.” She looked at James Lewis for confirmation, and he nodded.

In the Slytherin locker room, the speech was different.

“We’re up against the Gryffindors,” Gigi was saying. “And they will be INSUFFERABLE if they win. So we need to beat them. If they fight dirty, we fight dirty right back. Let’s kick their arses.” Everyone nodded.

“They’re also chock full of blood traitors,” Lucius remarked. Gigi whipped around and glared at him.

“This is why you aren’t team captain, Malfoy!” she yelled. He shrugged defensively.

“Well you told us to fight dirty!”

“At least I’m not racist!”

-

As most students were at the Quidditch match, the Gryffindor Common Room was quiet. Only Lily and Remus were present.

“You don’t have to keep me company, you know,” Remus said, for probably the millionth time. Lily rolled her eyes.

“God, Remus,” she said, “Do you ever let people do things for you?”

“My mom and my dad, sometimes.” He grinned sheepishly. “I’m just not worth all the effort.”

“Wrong!” Lily smacked him with a roll of parchment. “Do you think because some jerk decided to get revenge on your dad by turning you into a werewolf makes you a horrible person?” She gave him a look that said she knew the answer.

“Yes,” he whispered, as expected. Lily rolled her eyes once again and got back to their task of getting ahead on homework.

“You are impossible,” she grumbled.

-

“Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch match!”

Cheers rang out from the stadium. Many students at Hogwarts were interested in watching Quidditch, and/or playing it, and most of those who weren’t came just to this match due to the infamous Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry. Everyone wanted to see who would win.

“I’m Alice, your announcer for this match. I would have brought my pal Felix, but Frank is scared of him, so that would put the Gryffindors at an unfair disadvantage.” Laughter flooded through the stadium, including some from Frank. Alice was the type of person who did well in school and would be in the drama club, if Hogwarts had one. They did not.

“Annnnnd we’re getting started,” Alice said. The whistle blew. “And they’re off! Rank with the Quaffle, she passes it to Wood...”

On the field, both Dorcas and Gideon had their eyes peeled. She grinned when a Bludger came hurtling toward Gideon - she’d have to compliment Flores later. Gideon and Fabian, and to some extent, Frank, might have been her friends, but all that went out the window when Quidditch was involved. Especially considering the stakes of the game. If the Gryffindors won, they would be insufferable.

“Slytherin scores!” Alice yelled from the announcers box. Dorcas sighed in relief. It seemed that Frank was having trouble blocking the goals. After the game, she’d hope he was okay.

Slytherin scored three more times in a row and the Gryffindor team called a timeout.

“So,” James said to Sirius from the stands while the teams were discussing strategy, “I asked Lily out. You know what she said? She said ‘when pigs fly.’” Sirius snorted.

“Why’d you ask her out?” he scoffed.

“Because,” James sighed, “She’s not only beautiful, but she’s caring, and she’s smart, and she doesn’t let people walk all over her.” His friend nodded.

“‘When pigs fly,’ you say?” James nodded. “Well, then we’ll have to Wingardium Leviosa the shite out of some pigs. I’ll go right now to see if Hagrid knows where to get any.” He smiled.

“You’ll miss the game, though.”

“I guess you can think of it as payback for this.” Sirius gestured to his leather jacket. “And besides, I can still hear what’s going on. And you’re my friend. Don’t friends do stuff for each other?” James nodded.

“I suppose you’re right,” he said. “Thanks. Don’t be gone too long!” Sirius nodded and left the stands, heading off to Hagrid’s hut.

On the field, Sofia was giving Frank a _very_ hard time.

“What is going _on_?” she asked him. He shrugged and she grumbled. “Well fix it! Or I’m putting in that second year from the reserve for the Ravenclaw match in two weeks!” Terrified, Frank nodded, and Sofia looked at James Lewis. “They’re throwing Bludgers at us. Let’s kill ‘em.” Looking at the rest of the team, she loudly added, “Metaphorically!”

The two teams got back on their brooms, and the game got suddenly very intense.

“Prince with the Quaffle,” Alice announced. “Passes it to Malfoy, and oh, dear. Sink smacked Longbottom in the head with his bat.” Roars came from the Gryffindors in the stands as the event was declared a foul. Fabian shot the Quaffle through the goal, and Macmillan missed. “Gryffindor scores!”

-

“Pigs, you say?” Sirius had knocked on Hagrid’s door and asked if he knew where to get pigs, preferably ones that were light enough for it to not be difficult to lift them in the air.

“Well,” Hagrid continued, “Yer in luck. There’s a magical farm a few towns over that has miniature micropigs that I reckon they’d let me borrow.”

“Wow,” Sirius said. “Thanks. How can I repay you?” The half-giant shook his head and chuckled.

“Don’t mention it. Go enjoy the match.”

Sirius nodded and ran back to the field, hearing the commentary on his way.

“Prince with the Quaffle, passes it to Malfoy, he - bugger!”

“Alice!” Sirius grinned, hearing Professor McGonagall scolding her. He found his seat next to James.

“Hagrid can get us the pigs sometime soon,” he told his friend. “What’d I miss?”

“Gryffindor 50, Slytherin 70,” James said, not taking his eyes off the field. “Malfoy deliberately aimed at Longbottom instead of at the goal.”

“‘Bugger,’ indeed.”

“What the hell, Lucius?” Gigi spat. He looked at her defensively.

“You said play dirty. I just knocked their Keeper out of the game.” Gigi looked shocked.

“Merlin, Malfoy! I meant, like, the Beaters hitting the Bludgers extra hard, Chasers being rough in getting and keeping the Quaffle. The Seeker pushing competition out of the way. Not bloody breaking fingers!” Rank took the Gryffindor penalty shot, which Macmillan caught and chucked back at her, hitting her in the stomach. Gigi groaned. “Seriously?” She flew off to scold him. Sofia called a time out.

“What happened?” she asked Genevieve. The other girl gasped for breath.

“Wind...knocked...out,” she huffed. “Give me...a bit. I’ll ... I’ll be fine.” Sofia nodded and turned to Frank.

“You’ve got to sit the rest of this out,” she told him. He shrank under her glare. “I don’t mean because you let a few goals in. You’re back on your game. I mean your bloody finger isn’t supposed to bend that way!”

Frank looked at his finger, which was very obviously broken. He was in a lot of pain.

“I can manage,” he told the captain.

“You also got smacked in the head with a bat!”

“Sofia,” Frank said, “I’ll be _fine_. Let’s win this.” She looked at him skeptically before letting Hooch know they were ready to continue.

-

“You have to admit,” Mary said to Marlene in the stands, “That Frank Longbottom is just _dashing_. And he’s so dedicated, too.”

“You have to admit,” Marlene replied, “That I don’t give a bag of hippogriff turds about that. I’m in the zone. Watching the game. In focus. Not the time to tell me about boys.” She smiled at Mary. “Though, Longbottom’s dedication is pretty admirable.”

A few rows in front of them, Peter squealed as the Gryffindors scored again.

“That’s going to be you, next year!” he told James, who nodded smugly.

“And _I_ ,” Sirius added, also craving attention, “Will be smacking Bludgers at Malfoy’s ugly face.”

“He’s a seventh year, but if he wasn’t, you’d be so good at it.” James and Sirius grinned at each other. Peter could be a good self esteem boost.

On the Slytherin side, Severus groaned as Malfoy’s latest attempt to score was blocked by Frank, who was looking less and less alert as the game continued on. Still, he managed to block all the goals.

After Prince had scolded him on his cold tactics of Keeping, Macmillan had obnoxiously decided to be gentler, but took it to an extreme. The Gryffindor team had scored three more times.

“I can’t believe it,” Narcissa whined. “Longbottom _must_ be on steroids or probably Felix Felicis. There’s no way he’s running off of talent. Lucius is _far_ better than him.”

“Actually,” Severus countered, “He couldn’t be on steroids. Not only is he way too keen on following the rules, his body would look different. As for the Felix Felicis, his behavior is normal, and those who take the good luck potion are much more excitable and cheerful.”

“GRYFFINDOR SCORES!” Alice screamed, prompting more groans from the Slytherins.

“Nerd,” Narcissa muttered to Severus.

Gigi flew up to meet Dorcas.

“Meadowes,” she growled, “You had _better_ catch that Snitch soon. They’re now 30 points ahead.”

“Roger that.” Dorcas saluted, looking for the Snitch. She watched as Derrick made a hard-to-stop shot at the goal. Frank flew by to block it, prompting even more groans from the Slytherins. Wood stuck her tongue out at Flores, who sent a Bludger her way.

It was then that both Dorcas and Gideon saw a glint of gold. They sped toward it, but Gideon was far closer to the Snitch than Dorcas. Fabian scored again.

“Damn it,” Dorcas muttered. It was hopeless. Still, she went toward the Snitch.

“The two Seekers are in an intense race to the Snitch,” Alice said. “Prewett has an advantage, but - wait! Is Meadowes pulling up?”

Dorcas was, in fact, changing her course. She had seen Frank sway on his broom and begin to fall and had shot like a bullet toward him. She was vaguely aware of Gideon catching the Snitch as her fingers closed around Frank’s ankle before he fell any farther.

“Prewett has caught the Snitch!” Alice exclaimed. “And Meadowes caught the Gryffindor Keeper, which brings us to the question, can the Slytherins have a Quidditch match that _doesn’t_ end with someone in the hospital wing?”

Lukewarm laughter came from some students, but many were either cheering or angrily screaming at the end result of the match. McGonagall gave Alice an annoyed look, so she quickly gave the score.

“Gryffindor wins, 260 to 70. Good game, all.”

Fabian flew up to meet Dorcas, and they slowly got an unconscious Frank to the ground.

“Do you have it from here?” she asked Fabian. “If I get any closer your teammates may murder me.” He nodded.

“Yeah,” he said, chuckling a bit. Dorcas began her run to her teammates, but someone grabbed her shoulder. It was Genevieve.

“Hey,” she said. “Tell Malfoy to go fuck himself. And both your Beaters.”

“Okay,” Dorcas squeaked. Rank flipped her the bird before she could run off. The Slytherin response was not much better.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Gigi screamed, storming up to her. “You _let_ him catch the Snitch!”

“I couldn’t beat him,” she explained defensively. “He had a head start, and I couldn’t catch up to him. But Longbottom was falling. He could have been seriously injured if it wasn’t -“

“I don’t want to hear it,” the captain snapped. “You’re off the team. I can’t have people who don’t put Quidditch as their top priority on this team.”

-

The door to the Gryffindor common room banged open, and the sound of squealing pigs was audible.

“Sirius!” Hagrid called. “Got yer pigs!” James and Sirius ran up to him, at the door.

“Thanks, so much, again!” Sirius said. “We must repay you!” Again, Hagrid shook his head.

“Just return whichever pigs yeh don’ use. You can even keep one if yeh want.”

“Thanks!” James exclaimed. Hagrid smiled, handed them the box of pigs, and strolled off.

“Let’s do it!” Sirius whispered excitedly. “This is totally going to work.” James ran over to Remus and grabbed him.

“It’s time,” he said. Remus nodded. The three of them grabbed their wands and pointed at the pigs, one at a time.

“ _Wingardium Leviosa_!” they shouted. James jumped up onto a table and yelled out, “Evans! Will you go out with me?” He winked. “As you can see, these pigs are flying.” Lily smiled and stood up. James grinned at the other boys, and Lily slapped him in the face.

“It’s a figure of speech, you _tosser,_ ” she said. Marlene and Mary laughed, as well as Sirius, Remus, and Peter. James looked around and laughed along. “It means never, because pigs don’t have wings and don’t fly unprompted.”

James and Sirius looked at each other in excited understanding. They started running off.

“Do you think Hagrid knows of those?”  
Sirius asked. Before they could leave the tower, though, Remus grabbed both of them by the elbows and steered them back to the common room.

“No,” he said. “The woman said no. If she changes her mind, she’ll let you know. Okay?” The two boys nodded dejectedly. Lily rolled her eyes and smiled at Remus.

“Why didn’t I get to do the spell?” Peter whined.

“Because,” Sirius laughed, slapping him on the shoulder, “You’d probably kill the pig.” All four of them laughed.

-

“We finally got all the pigs corralled and returned,” Sirius sighed. He collapsed on his bed.

“Who knew they would be so hard to collect?” James agreed. A small squeak startled them.

“What was that?” Remus asked. Peter stood up.

“Did we miss one?” he said worriedly. They frantically searched the room.

“All that’s left is Ember’s section,” James said after a few minutes. Ember had returned from the break and after a few days, had gotten permission to set up a partition in the dorm, so he had his own little section. The other four hadn’t minded, as the five had an agreement: the four stayed out of Ember’s way, he stayed out of theirs. James ripped the curtain back.

“What the -“ Ember yelled, falling off his bed.

“Is there a pig in here?” Sirius asked. Ember smiled.

“Yeah.” He held up the final pig. “Meet Franco. Hagrid said I could keep him.” The pig squeaked, as if in agreement.


	12. My Father Will Hear About This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James and Sirius sneak into the stands to watch a Quidditch practice; Peter finds a boggart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond
> 
> This is one of my favorite chapters, because of the focus on Peter. I also love the house-elves, so...
> 
> CW: Mentions of abuse, minor homophobia

Valentine’s Day was a small affair at Hogwarts. For some. Others, like Narcissa and Lucius, dramatically presented each other with gifts to display their love or infatuation, that often ended in very long and very public displays of affection.

“Disgusting,” Sirius snarled, watching the two at breakfast. Peter nodded.

“Agreed.” They watched as the owls flooded the Great Hall. Multiple owls dropped things at James’ and Sirius’ spots.

“One of those is from Letitia,” Marlene told Sirius, passing by. She dropped her own next to him. “And thank you for my gift. Love you!” He waved dramatically.

“Thank you!” he said. “Love you too!” He turned back to his friends, who were looking at him and smirking.

“You were saying?” James asked. Calmly, Sirius handed his gift to James.

“It was literally the same thing as this,” he told them. Inside the envelope was a nice-looking piece of parchment that said, “Happy Valentines Day. I don’t hate you.” Each was addressed to a specific person. Of course, the other three boys had also gotten gifts for each other. James and Sirius, however, had more letters, mostly from admirers, as they were attractive and charismatic. Sirius spotted one letter that was not decked out in pink and white. He grabbed it.

_Dear Sirius,_

_Thank you for my book on the history of magical objects. It was much appreciated. I had to wait for a while to send a thank-you letter because I didn’t want Mother and Father to be around to ask what it was about._

_I’m flattered that you sent me a gift, since I’m pretty sure you didn’t give anyone else in the family one except maybe that person we don’t talk about. To thank you, I have enclosed something in my letter I hope you appreciate._

_I miss you. Please come back for the summer._

_Regulus_

Sirius smiled at the letter and pulled out the other piece of parchment that was in the envelope. It read: _I, Regulus Arcturus Black, give Sirius Orion Black permission to tag along* with me when I go places during holidays._

_*’tag along’ means I won’t tell Mother or Father where you go, and will say you were always with me_

He put both parts of the letter in his pocket, and opened the rest just to make sure nothing important was in them.

At Lily’s end of the table, Severus walked up to her.

“Hey,” he said. “I figured out a small change to that spell.”

“What spell?” she asked, looking up. He pulled out a bunch of grapes, and recognition flashed through her eyes. She laughed. “Thank you for the grapes.” He also laughed, and then muttered an incantation that caused peonies to sprout from what were once grapes. He handed them to her.

“Please tell me peonies were you favorite flower.” She nodded, but then frowned.

“I’m really thankful for these,”’she said, “But I didn’t get you anything.” Severus smiled.

“Your gift of friendship is enough,” he told her, and she jumped up to give him a hug.

-

“Who’s the new Seeker for Slytherin?” Gideon asked. Dorcas sighed.

“A bitch,” she muttered. “Malfoy’s girlfriend. She’s... not as good as I am.”

“Well,” Gideon smiled, “There’s another Super Secret Seeker Society meeting next week. I’m sure Fabian won’t mind if you’re my plus-one.” Dorcas laughed, feeling slightly better. They passed by the library, where they ran into Fabian, who was leaving.

“Hi, guys,” he said, but Gideon interrupted him.

“You’re not my twin anymore,” he told him. “Dorcas is, so she can got to SSSS next week.”

“So Dorcas is your twin?” Gideon nodded, and Fabian followed. “I can see the resemblance.” Dorcas laughed again, but she had to go a different way to get to the Slytherin common room, so she bid the twins goodbye.

“Dorcas!” someone shouted. She heard footsteps coming after her, but knew it wasn’t one of the twins because their voices were deeper.

She was almost tackled by Marlene, the owner of the voice.

“Guess what?” the younger girl said excitedly.

“What?”

“Bonnie asked me to be her plus-one for the Super Secret Seeker Society!” Dorcas smiled.

“That’s great, Marlene,” she said. “I’m glad you still get to go.”

“Me too.” The two girls fell into step together. “I’m sorry you’re not on the team anymore.” Dorcas shrugged.

“Well,” she remarked, “Apparently I was too nice.” The other girl laughed.

-

Soon February was coming to a close. Time flew by, because the professors were beginning to give out even more homework for study purposes. James and Sirius had something to say about it.

“Exams aren’t even until May!” James whined.

“I know,” Sirius replied. “Why, professors, _why_?”

“Keep working, nitwits,” Remus muttered. They obeyed, begrudgingly.

“It’s torture,” Peter remarked. “ _Literal_ torture.” Suddenly, Sirius snapped his book shut.

“No, it’s not.” He fiddled with the glove on his left hand. Peter snorted.

“How would you know? Are you the expert on torture? Have you ever been tortured?” He grinned, happy at his comeback, and thinking everything would be back to normal. Instead, Sirius stood up.

“Yes,” he said coldly. “I _have_ been tortured.” He left the room. James and Remus were quick to follow him, leaving Peter to remain in the room, concerned.

The two boys found Sirius on the balcony they had found him on before break.

“Hey,” James said softly, sitting down next to him. Remus got on the other side of him and laid a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. Sirius gave him a small smile.

“Do you know why I wear these gloves?” he asked, gesturing to the dark fingerless gloves he often wore. Both of the other boys shook their heads.

“This is why,” Sirius told them, pulling the left one off. He held up his hand, where the words ‘I am a pureblood and I am superior’ were permanently ground in, in loopy cursive. “If I misbehave too much, I have to write lines.”

“Oh, God,” Remus whispered, leaning into him.

“That’s not all,” Sirius continued darkly. “Do you know what the Cruciatus curse is?”

“Vaguely,” James said, shuddering. Remus shrugged.

“It causes the victim great deals of pain. My mum started using it on me when I was eight.” James winced and put his arm around his friend.

“Is your dad at least nice?” he asked. Sirius shook his head.

“Nicer than my mum. He doesn’t really talk to me though. Sometimes he’ll hex me if I step out of line, but he hasn’t used an Unforgivable curse yet.” He sniffled. “I’m sorry I’m burdening you with this.”

“You’re not burdening us,” James told him. Suddenly, he grinned. “Wanna play a prank?” Sirius also grinned and nodded rapidly. Remus shook his head and stood up.

“You guys have fun,” he said. “I need to go.”

“Your mum, again?” Sirius asked. Remus nodded. “Well, give her my best wishes.”

-

Peter had decided that he would apologize with food. Who didn’t love food? He arrived in the kitchens, and, per usual, the elves ran up to attend to him.

“What does Mister Peter want?” Boley asked. He bowed so his long nose reached the floor.

“Chocolate,” Peter replied. “I messed up with my friends. I need to apologize to them.” He didn’t know why he was telling the elves this. Maybe they knew more than cooking and magic.

“What type, sir?” another elf - Deezy, Peter was pretty sure - asked.

“Um... plain?” Holly the elf ran up with a large plain chocolate bar. “Thank you.”

“If Sir messed up,” she squeaked. “Holly thinks the first thing he’s should do is apologize... after punishing himself properly.”

“I’ve confined myself to the dorm room alone for a bit. Does that count?” She nodded. “I’ll do it then.” Peter turned to leave, remembering he forgot an important part of visiting the house-elves. “Thank you!” The three elves that helped him all saluted, calling, “Our pleasure, sir!”

-

Frank was warming up before Quidditch practice when he saw Dorcas walk into the field. He flew down to meet her.

“Hey,” he said. “Fancy helping me practice keeping?” He gestured to a broom on the side of the field. “I’m sure Jeanne wouldn’t mind if you borrowed her broom.” She nodded.

“Yeah,” she said, running to get the broom and meet him in the air after he picked up a spare Quaffle. “I’d love to.”

He passed her the ball.

“Sorry about the match,” he told her.

“It’s okay.” She shot the ball and he caught it, proceeding to pass it back to her.

“Well,” he grinned. “You’re welcome to help me and the boys practice. If you don’t go too easy on us.” Dorcas smiled and sent the ball hurtling toward the left hoop at top speed. Frank missed it.

“Not a chance,” she smirked.

“ _What_ is that _Slytherin_ doing on my broom?” Both fliers looked down to see an angry Jeanne Wood glaring up at Dorcas. “She’s probably bewitching my broom so Slytherin can do better in the Quidditch cup.” Dorcas sighed and came down, dismounting the broom.

“How many times do I have to say it?” she grumbled. “I’ve been kicked off the team. I’m not a spy.” She handed Jeanne the broom. “In fact, I would prefer Gryffindor win over Slytherin now.” Jeanne harrumphed and snatched her broom.

-

Feeling good after his talk with the house-elves, Peter walked back to the Gryffindor tower with a spring in his step. Halfway there, he noticed rattling on a door nearby.

“Are you stuck?” he called at the door. No reply came, just more rattling. He opened the door. James, Sirius and Remus stepped out.

“Hey!” Peter said. “Just the people I wanted to see. I wanted to apo -“

“You think we want you to be friends with us?” Sirius snarked. “You’re too insensitive and annoying.”

“Not to mention an absolute _idiot_ ,” Remus added. James nodded.

“And you’re kind of... ugly,” he said. The other two nodded.

“Is that really how you feel?” Peter asked, but they ignored him.

“I think,” Sirius started, “You should get a partition like Ember. Then we won’t have to see your stupid face all the time.” All three of them laughed and Peter’s eyes filled with tears.

“Stand aside,” someone else said. Professor Marsh came into view. “It’s a boggart.” Peter was about to ask what that was when she stepped in front of him and James, Sirius and Remus turned into a man, lying dead on the floor.

“ _Riddikulus_ ,” the Professor said calmly, and the man jumped up and started tap dancing, clean of the blood he was covered in before. Marsh pushed him back until he was inside the closet, and she shut and locked the door. Then, she turned to Peter. “Why don’t you come to my office?”

-

“Are you sure they fly?” Sirius asked. He and James were walking to the Quidditch pitch, where the Gryffindors were allegedly practicing. James stuck his hand in the box they were both carrying and pulled out a small golden golf ball. He let go of it, and it hovered a few inches away from his nose before he caught it and put it back.

“Yeah,” he said, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “I think they fly.”

“Good.” Sirius grinned mischievously. “This is going to be the best prank ever.”

They quickly walked to the Quidditch field and sat down in the stands. The team was just starting to warm up. Over to one side, Marlene and Dorcas were sitting together, also watching the practice Alice was next to them, a book open in her lap.

“Now?” James asked. Sirius shook his head.

“No. We need to wait until something happens before releasing the fake Snitches.” James nodded.

-

“What was that?” Peter was walking with his Defense professor to her office.

“A boggart,” she said. “It takes the shape of one’s worst fears.” She opened the door to her classroom. “For example, my worst fear is my best friend dying. You probably saw that.” She sat down at her desk and motioned for Peter to sit down also.

“How do I get rid of one?” he asked.

“Laughter.” She chuckled. “You think of something funny and say, ‘Riddikulus’.”

“Riddikulus,” Peter repeated. The professor nodded.

“Yes,” she said. “Tell me. Were those boys you saw people who bully you?” The boy blushed and shook his head.

“No.” He shifted in his seat. “They’re my friends. At least I think. I guess I’m scared they’ll stop liking me because I’m not as cool as they are.”

“Well,” Marsh said, straightening her glasses. “If they _are_ ever unkind to you, you can talk to me anytime for the rest of this year.”

“What do you mean, ‘this year?’” Peter asked, confused. His teacher laughed slightly.

“Oh.” She waved her hand dismissively. “I’m only here for a year as a favor to Professor Dumbledore.”

“Aw. That’s a shame. You’re a really good teacher.”

“Thank you, Peter.” Marsh smiled.

-

Thirty minutes into the Quidditch practice, and there was yet to be a good time to release the golf balls that James and Sirius charmed to look and fly like Snitches.

“D’you think there’ll be a good time to release them?” James asked his friend, worried their joke would fall flat. Sirius nodded.

“Of course there will,” he said confidently. “If there isn’t a time during their practice, we release them afterward, when everyone’s about to leave.” James nodded.

“Didn’t think of that.” He chuckled to himself. “That will be hilarious.” Sirius nodded and they both burst into giggles.

Suddenly, Sirius felt a tug on his arm and saw James pointing out a group of students clad in green, approaching the field.

“What are you doing here?” Sofia asked.

“I could ask you the same question,” Gigi retorted. “ _We_ are here to give our Seeker extra practice.” She gestured to Narcissa.

“Ah, yes.” The Gryffindor captain crossed her arms. “You just _had_ to kick the one member of your team that doesn’t suck off.”

“She thinks I don’t suck?” Dorcas whispered to Marlene and Alice. They both shrugged.

“Well, you don’t,” Alice remarked.

“Ah, yes,” Gigi shot back, copying Sofia. “You’re the team that cares more about _feelings_ than success.”

“Funny,” Macmillan muttered, “You would think the team of touchy-feely types and blood traitors would be the Hufflepuff team.”

“Yes,” Malfoy drawled. “But the Hufflepuff team isn’t as bad as the Gryffindor team... unless you count their _dyke_ Seeker.” Gasps came from most of the people on the field, and Frank sped towards Malfoy.

“Say that again, Malfoy,” he snarled, “And I’ll shove this broomstick so far up your arse it’ll come out through your _nose_.”

In the stands, Alice whispered to Dorcas, “That’s highly unlikely that he would be able to do that.” James and Sirius looked at each other, unspoken understanding passing between them. They put their hands on the box lid.

“Do that,” Malfoy said, “And my father will hear about it. He’s very well-known in Wizarding cir-“

“NOW!” Sirius hissed, and they opened their box of joke Snitches. The people on the field looked up to see a bunch of golden balls starting to fly through the air. Gideon hopped on a broom, as well as Frank and Fabian. Dorcas vaulted over the seats and up to Malfoy.

“Give me that, you bloody idiot,” she said, snatching the Comet out of his hands and mounting it. A few other Gryffindors got on their brooms to help.

“May I?” James asked the sixth year Gryffindor Beater. James Lewis nodded, and the Potter boy mounted the broom and joined the chase. Narcissa, startled, had dropped her broom, and Sirius had run to grab it and help. He and James flew through the air, laughing and trying to catch prank Snitches, while the Slytherins screamed at them from below.

-

James and Sirius burst through the Gryffindor dorm room door, still laughing.

“You’ll never believe what we did, Pete!” James exclaimed. Pleasantly surprised that the two coolest first years were still speaking to him, Peter listened for their tale with rapt attention. It was a tale of laughter, fun, and getting on the Slytherins’ nerves.

“Wow,” Peter breathed once they were finished. He dropped down to rummage through his bag and got the chocolate. He handed it to Sirius. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I was being insensitive about the whole torture thing, so I understand if you’re still mad at me. Consider this a peace offering.” The other boy smiled and took the chocolate.

“Thanks,” he smiled. “Apology accepted. It’s just... a touchy subject. And I am feeling better now.” Peter nodded and launched into his tale of the boggart, leaving out the part where his greatest fear was rejection. Instead, he said the boggart turned into a werewolf. He read that many people were afraid of magical creatures, and that was just the first one he came up with. The other two seemed to buy it. All that aside, Peter _did_ enjoy being the knowledgeable one for once.

-

Mary ran up to Alice in the library.

“Can you babysit my friend?” she asked, gesturing to Marlene, who was still rambling on about the Quidditch practice of the night before. “I need to do some homework.” Alice nodded.

“So do I,” she said. “How about _your_ friend talks to _my_ friend about Quidditch and we get some peace and quiet?” Mary laughed.

“Deal.” She grabbed Marlene and steered her towards Dorcas, being led by Alice.

“There,” Alice said triumphantly. “You two Quidditch nerds talk to each other.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While this is one of my favorite chapters, my ABSOLUTE favorite chapter is coming Friday!


	13. Locker Room Gossip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marlene and Lily have a heart-to-heart; Dorcas is concerned about Severus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens
> 
> CW: A LOT of homophobia.

“Ooh, look at this,” Mulciber said one afternoon in the library. “Body-Bind Curse. We should hit the Gryffindor Mudblood with that.”

“All three of them,” Avery agreed, slowly grinning. “MacDonald, Hart, and Evans.”

“Not Evans,” Snape said quietly. The other two boys turned their heads to look at him.

“Well, Sev,” Mulciber drawled. “Becoming a blood traitor, aren’t we?”

“For a little crush?” Avery added. Severus shook his head quickly.

“No!” he said with a large amount of force. “We’re better than the Mudbloods. But Evans is different from the others. She’s ... actually magic, and she’s good at it, too. Just don’t do anything to her.” The other two boys looked at each other, having a silent conversation.

“Okay,” Avery said, shrugging. “We’ll leave Evans alone. But I trust you’re going to join us and Malfoy and his girlfriend in messing up that Hufflepuff girl’s locker?” He raised his eyebrows at Severus, who nodded.

“Obviously.”

-

Like when Sirius pranked innocent by-passers by tying their shoelaces together, Avery and Mulciber hid behind a suit of armor, waiting for Maya and Mary to pass by. Unlike Sirius, their intentions were not to pull innocent pranks.

“Here comes Hart,” Mulciber told Avery, tugging on his sleeve. Avery nodded, and jumped out from behind the armor. Maya was prepared.

“ _Expelliarmus_!” she shouted, having whipped out her wand as soon as the Slytherin appeared. Avery’s wand flew out of his hand.

“Damn it!” He stomped back to the hideout, and muttered to Mulciber, “She was more prepared than expected.”

“Calm down,” he said to Avery. “Mary won’t expect a thing.”

It was ten minutes later when Mary rounded the corner. This time it was Mulciber who planned to cast the spell.

“Hello, Mulciber,” the girl said smugly. “Attempting to hex innocent Muggle-borns?” He grumbled.

“So Hart tipped you off?”

“No, actually.” She shook her head. “Nobody tipped me off. Considering that you’ve begun to bully me relentlessly, I’ve gotten quite good at looking over my shoulder constantly. _And_ improving my slug-vomiting charm.” She smirked and Avery poked his head out from the hideout.

“Like you’re any good at _that_ ,” he sneered. Mary raised her wand, and Mulciber grabbed Avery’s arm and started walking away.

“Dude,” he said, “I was puking slugs for _hours_. We need to _go_.” Seeing his friend’s terrified face, he nodded and they both ran off.

-

Early March brought a small nip in the air with it. One that was felt by both Lily and Remus as they ventured toward Hagrid’s hut.

“Wonder what happens if you dip the rock cakes in tea,” Remus mused. Lily shrugged.

“Who knows?” she laughed. “Maybe it’ll soften them up.”

They reached the door to the hut and knocked. Hagrid’s large mastiff, Sabertooth, who thankfully did not have saber teeth, barked in response. Hagrid opened the door, greeting them with a big smile.

“Come on in,” he told them. They obeyed, and he got out two small cups of tea and another one, the size of a small bucket, and then put a plate of rock cakes on the table. “Now watch where yer sittin’. There’s a Niffler hidin’ out somewhere here.”

“What’s a Niffler?” Remus asked, carefully inspecting his chair before sitting down. Lily did the same.

“Little furry creatures that look for treasure,” Hagrid explained. Her gestured to Lily’s earrings. “Might wanna take those off. They like shiny objects.” Lily nodded and took them off, discreetly pocketing them.

“‘Course,” the half-giant continued fondly, “They’re the real treasures.” Both kids laughed as there was a tiny skittering near the armchair. A small, dark, and fluffy creature with a long, bill-like snout crawled out from under the chair.

“Awww!” Lily squealed. “He’s adorable.” Sabertooth gently picked up the Niffler by his tail and deposited him on the table.

“Yup,” Hagrid said, picking him up to show to Lily and Remus, “This is it. ‘S a niffler. The name’s Fireball.” The two kids chuckled - Hagrid often named the most terrifying creatures cute names and the most adorable ones threatening names.

Remus giggled. “Did you name a pet manticore Cutie Pie?” he asked jokingly.

“I don’t have one,” Hagrid replied sadly. He perked up. “Though if I get one, I think I’ll use that name.”

All three of them cracked up, and Lily whispered to Remus, “What have you done?” This made him laugh harder.

-

“You tipped them off, didn’t you?” Mulciber demanded, storming up to Severus, who was in the Hufflepuff locker room, along with Lucius, Narcissa, Avery, and Rabastan.

“Tipped who off?” he asked, more focused on ensuring he used his wand to write a proper ‘B’ on Wren’s locker.

“The Mudbloods in Gryffindor,” Mulciber snarled.

“I did no such thing.” He turned to Malfoy. “Would you like to do the next letter?” Malfoy nodded and took his place. “As you can see from my writing the first letter, my loyalty lies solely with the Slytherins.” The other boy sighed.

“I suppose you’re right...” He looked at the locker. “Ben?”

“We’re going to make it say ‘Bent Bitch,’” Narcissa explained from her perch on top of a table. “She was kissing some other girl at Hogsmeade. No explanation needed.”

“She’s also supposedly good at Quidditch,” Avery added. He made a face. “And... Muggle sports. So...” He shrugged. “You know...”

“Oh!” Rabastan exclaimed. “Both are just _wrong_.” The others nodded in agreement.

“Finished,” Malfoy announced. He stood back to admire the words, ‘Bent Bitch’ written on Bonnie Wren’s locker in green and black.

“Nice.” Mulciber smirked. “What do the colors mean?”

“It shows a Slytherin did it,” Narcissa explained, latching onto Lucius, as always. “Also, don’t lesbos always wear them?”

The boys nodded and then erupted into nasty laughter. They were so loud, that Marlene, who was putting up some Gryffindor Quidditch supplies in their locker room next door, heard and decided to investigate.

“What’s going on?” she demanded, storming into the Hufflepuff locker room. Her eyes widened at the writing on the locker, and the Slytherins dissolved into even more laughter.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Marlene asked, very obviously bothered. Narcissa smiled demeaningly at the first year.

“Just giving Wren what she deserves,” she said calmly.

“ _Who_ would deserve to have... _that_ written on their locker?” Marlene gestured wildly to the group’s work.

“Serves her right,” Rabastan snorted. Narcissa nodded.

“She probably likes being Seeker because she can hang out below everyone.” She shot Marlene a nasty grin. “So she can look under the other girls’ robes.”

“I get it.” Marlene straightened up. “You think Bonnie’s some sort of ... predator, just because she likes girls.”

“You seem to know a lot about that,” Lucius said. “Are you also a -“ he gestured to the writing - “lesbo?” The young girl let out a barely audible gasp and the blood drained from her face. Avery snorted.

“I think she is!” he cackled. He turned to his friends. “What do you think, boys?” Narcissa glared at him. “And girl.”

“We could hex her robes to say the same,” Mulciber suggested. “What do you think, Sev?” Severus, who had been silent, twisted his lips into a nasty grin.

“‘Lesbo Loser,’” he told the others. “That’s what it should say.” The boys burst into raucous laughter. Narcissa pointed to Marlene, who had begun to cry, and they all laughed harder.

“Marls, what are you doing in here?” Sirius asked, entering the scene. He had not yet noticed the group of Slytherins or the writing on the locker. He laughed. “This is the Hufflepuff lock -“ He stopped abruptly, taking in everything.

“Oh, look!” Severus yelled. “It’s the family disappointment!”

“Where’s your _boyfriend_ , Black?” Avery asked mockingly. Despite his disgust at the situation and worry for his friend, Sirius laughed.

“Oh, James is talking with Lopez about Quidditch for next year,” he said jokingly.

“Not _him_ ,” Narcissa laughed. “We mean the dirt-poor half-blood.” She turned to the others. “What’s his name?”

“Lupin,” Severus snarled, smirking. Like Marlene minutes before, the color left Sirius’ face.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” he whispered. The guys and Narcissa grinned at each other, pleased to get a reaction out of him.

“Don’t try to hide it,” Lucius jeered. “No guy with hair like that fancies girls like a normal person.” He gestured to Sirius’ hair, which, despite being short at the beginning of the year, had now grown past his ears. Sirius snorted.

“Your hair is halfway down your back, dumbass,” he giggled. He elbowed Marlene, who took the hint and ran off while they were distracted.

“That’s because he’s a respectable young man,” Narcissa said, smirking. She snaked an arm around her boyfriend. “And you’re a little shit.” The Slytherin boys snickered.

“You know he only likes you because of your money, Black,” Severus remarked, causing Sirius to go even paler.

“Shut up,” he whispered, barley audible.

“But do you even have that money?”

“Shut _up_ , Snivellus.” Rabastan drew his wand.

“We’re insulting you right now, Black,” he snarled. He looked to Severus. “Continue.” He obeyed.

“One day,” he said evenly, “You’re going to lose it all. And little Lupin will leave you.” Sirius took a shaky breath.

“Shut. Up.” He was louder this time, but Snape didn’t stop.

“Face it, Black. Without your money -“

“Shut it!” The walls of the room started to creak threateningly.

“- You’ll die penniless and alone -“

“Stop it!” He cried.

“Just like Lupin.”

“SHUT UP!” Sirius screamed, covering his ears and crouching on the ground. The locker room exploded. The group of Slytherins flew out in different directions. Sirius sat in the center of a crater made in the ground, sobbing.

James and Peter ran up to him. Marlene followed.

“What happened?” James asked him worriedly. He didn’t look up, he just shook his head.

“They were making fun of me,” Marlene explained quietly. “He tried to defend me, but they said something about Remus being his ‘boyfriend’ and I guess it got to him. They were getting a rise out of him by the time he made me leave.” Peter looked at her, confused.

“But people say he and James are practically a couple all the time. It doesn’t bother him?” James shrugged and rubbed his friend’s back.

“What’s the difference?” he asked. “I mean, he’s our friend, too. Is it because I’m a pureblood and he’s not?” Finally, Sirius lifted his head.

“It’s not,” he whispered. “It has nothing to do with money, or parents, or blood.”

“Then how is it any different from someone calling me your boyfriend?” James asked.

“I don’t know,” Sirius snapped. “It just is.” Marlene opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it.

-

“He’s not gay, you know,” Narcissa said to Lucius from where they had landed in the explosion. He snorted.

“Obviously.” She helped him up. “Thanks. Girls pay way too much attention to him for that to be. Bent blokes don’t have girls lining up to date them.” Narcissa laughed as they began walking back to the castle.

“He’s probably just pissed we accused him of hanging out with Lupin.” Lucius nudged her with his shoulder.

“He’s a blood traitor, Cissa.” She laughed.

“Even _they_ have to have standards.” They both laughed. “He’s definitely getting cut out of the inheritance at this rate, though.” They laughed again, but shut up when McGonagall marched by them, practically dragging Sirius by the ear.

“I don’t _care_ if they egged your on or if it was accidental magic, someone could have been hurt!” she shrieked. “You _will_ be getting detention for this, and a hefty amount of points taken off!”

Lucius and Narcissa intelligently waited until the professor and student were far away before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

-

“Lil? Can I talk to you?” Marlene awkwardly entered the girls’ dorm, where Lily was reading a book. She put her book down and smiled.

“You are right now,” she said. Marlene rolled her eyes and shut the door, so the two would have privacy. Mary, Maya and Letitia were off doing something else. “What’s up?”

“Well...” the blonde sat down across from her. “I figured I’d tell you before the Slytherins told everyone. I like to think you’re my best friend, so you should hear it from me.” Lily smiled.

“Thanks. What is it?” With her sweet smile, Marlene almost ran out of the room right then. She wanted to keep things the way they were, and there was no way it was happening if she spoke.

“You’re going to hate me,” she whispered, hanging your head. “I... fancy someone.”

“It’s Black, isn’t it?” Lily giggled. “I don’t hate you. After all, you can’t really control who you like.” Marlene relaxed, and decided to go for it.

“No!” she said. “I fancy the Hufflepuff Seeker. You know, Bonnie Wren?” Lily gave her a huge smile.

“Oh. You’ve just been talking to Black a lot, so...” She trailed off, and smiled again. “It’s okay. I still don’t hate you. I’m sorry that the Slytherins had to find out.” She jumped up and walked over to Marlene to hug her. “You’re still my best friend.” Marlene smiled.

“Thanks.”

-

“Not to be Fabian,” Gideon said at lunch the next day, “But what’s up with the Gryffindor points?”

“Hey!” Fabian exclaimed, offended. “Though, I do agree. I could have sworn we had at least two hundred and now we’re down to one hundred twenty.” Frank shot them a solemn look.

“Didn’t you hear? Sirius Black blew up the Hufflepuff locker room.” Alice slid in next to Frank, followed by Dorcas sitting across from her.

“Yeah,” the Ravenclaw said. “According to the rumors, it was accidental magic.” Gideon’s eyes widened.

“Honestly,” he laughed, “I forgot people had cases of accidental magic _after_ they started going to Hogwarts. What else happened?”

“Apparently,” Frank began, “And these are all rumors, but...” Alice nodded.

“Some Slytherins reportedly said something about Marlene being ugly, and he defended her.” She paused to take a bite of food, and Frank continued for her.

“They started making fun of his family status, and he flipped out.” The twins shook their heads sadly.

“Poor kid,” Fabian said.

“Cute how he defended Marlene, though,” Gideon added, then gasped. “Oh, Merlin. I’m turning into Molly!” Alice and Fabian laughed while Dorcas turned to Frank.

“Who was in the group?” she asked. “God, I hope it’s not Eleanor.”

“Nah.” He shrugged. “All I know is that Malfoy was involved. And his girlfriend and Lestrange. A few first years.” Dorcas’ eyes widened. She had what she needed to know.

“Thanks,” she said, giving him a fist bump. She got up and walked over to the Slytherin table, where Severus was sitting. “Hey,” she smiled. “Can I talk to you?” He looked up and wrinkled his nose, but nodded anyway.

“What is it?” he sighed, shutting his book. Dorcas sat down next to him and lowered her voice.

“Were you part of the group that was in the explosion?” she asked. He nodded, and she got even quieter. “Look, I’ve seen you reading, and hanging out with, what’s her name? Lisa?”

“Lily.” He looked annoyed.

“Yeah, Lily. You seem so happy when you do those two things.”

“Well, yes,” Severus said flatly. “Lily’s my best friend.”

“Then why are you hanging out with Malfoy and his friends?”

“I like them, too.” Dorcas sighed and put her hand on his shoulder.

“Look,” she whispered. “All I’m saying is, I think you should take some time to figure out who your real friends are.” She smiled and he stood up abruptly.

“I don’t need your advice,” he snapped. He grabbed his book and stormed off. Dorcas watched.

-

The next Thursday, Sirius had his detention, cleaning out the trophies in the trophy room. Filch was supposed to be monitoring him, but his cat, Ms. Duncan, apparently had to be put to bed, so he pointed a crooked finger at Sirius and told him the trophies had better be spotless by morning. Taking the privacy gladly, Sirius had put his record player on, listening to The Lion Sleeps Tonight.

“In the castle, the quiet castle, the cool guy cleans tonight,” he sang, along to the music as he wiped a 1956 Quidditch cup. “‘Cause the Slytherins are dumb shitebags, I cannot sleep toniiiiight...”

He was just getting to the ‘a-wema-way’ part when the door opened.

“Shite,” he muttered, but the person who entered was not Filch. It was Remus.

“What are you doing?” he asked, smiling.

“Detention,” Sirius answered. “Why are you here?”

“Well...” Remus crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “I was going for a midnight snack and I heard music. I figured, who else but Sirius Fucking Black would be listening to The Tokens in the middle of the night?” Sirius blushed.

“Me,” he giggled. Remus walked over to the trophy he was polishing at the moment.

“Tom Marvolo Riddle,” he stated. “You could make an anagram out of that.”

“A what-a-gram?”

“Anagram. A phrase that can be rearranged to say another phrase. Like, for this one...” He trailed off, deep in thought for a second, before figuring one out. “Mr. Tom, a Dildo Lover.” He said it totally deadpan, causing Sirius to crack up, and forget all about the events that had led to him being in detention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mr Tom, a Dildo Lover was NOT my idea. Credit goes to whoever came up with it.


	14. Lions in Jumpers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank goes swimming; James and Sirius decide not to spend excessive time studying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf 
> 
> I relate to Marlene in this so much...

Exams were coming soon, and summer was on its way. For some, like Sirius, this was not a pleasant time. Others, such as Frank, elected to enjoy the nice weather. He was not expecting to be pushed into the lake. He screamed as he felt two strong hands on his back, and he stumbled off the grass and into the water.

“What was that for?” he exclaimed, once he had resurfaced. Two students wearing Hufflepuff ties were watching him and snickering.

“She pushed you,” said Sam Fitzgerald, one of the Hufflepuff Beaters. Bonnie, the other kid, rolled her eyes.

“But _you_ dared me to do it,” she retorted. He giggled and ran off. She bent down to get closer to eye level with Frank. “Wanna study for the Charms exam tomorrow?” He nodded.

“Sure,” he said. “How’s the locker room?” She laughed.

“It’s fine,” she replied. “Apparently it took a hell of a ‘reparo’ to fix it, but it’s back to the way it was before it blew up.” She paused. “Including the offensive words written on my locker. So, you know, I have to figure out how to clean that up, but, other than that, everything’s cool.” She reached over to Frank and kissed him on the cheek. “See you in the library at six tomorrow.”

“Okay,” he breathed, still treading water as she ran off. He felt like he was floating, but that may have been because he was in water. Still, he swam around, feeling light, until the unmistakable voice of Professor McGonagall asked, “Mr. Longbottom, _why_ are you in the lake?”

-

“Frankie’s got himself a girlfriend,” Gideon sang the next morning, when he sat down for breakfast with his friend and brother. Frank blushed.

“We’re just studying for Charms,” he said. Gideon smirked and Fabian, mouth full of toast, asked, “Who?”

“Bonnie Wren.” Frank shrugged. “You know, the Hufflepuff Seeker.”

“Ah,” Fabian nodded in approval. “She’s pretty cool.”

“Also pretty hot,” Gideon added. Fabian smacked him upside the head with a napkin.

“Gideon!” he chided. “Respect women!”

Further down the table, Remus had his nose buried in a book.

“Are you studying?” Sirius asked, laughing.

“Yes.” Peter frowned.

“I need to do that, too,” he said. James laughed.

“Come on guys,” he said, grinning. “Only _nerds_ study for exams.”

“I’d rather be a nerd than have to repeat first year,” Remus shot back. Sirius snorted, and James put his head on the table.

“Come on, Sirius,” he said. “If they’re going to study, lets do something fun.” Sirius nodded, eyes darting around the room, focusing on the Gryffindor banner nearby and Remus’ jumper. He leaned over and whispered something in James’ ear. James grinned. “Yes,” he said. “That’s _perfect._ ” They collapsed into giggles, and Remus shot a look at Peter.

“I’m worried,” he remarked. Peter nodded.

-

James and Sirius raced down to Hagrid’s hut at the first free period they got that day. They figured since he was so helpful with the pigs, he would be helpful in finding what they were looking for to use in their next prank. James knocked on the door and they waited, grinning. There was a bark and then the sound of the door opening.

“Boys!” Hagrid exclaimed, once he had opened the door. “What can I do for yeh?”

“Well,” Sirius began, but the gamekeeper interrupted him.

“Come on in.” He ushered them inside, and prepared two cups of tea. He looked to Sirius. “Continue.”

“So, we were wondering, since you knew exactly where to get the pigs, where would you find lions?” He smiled a dazzling smile. Hagrid thought for a second before speaking up.

“You mean like a manticore?” James snorted into his tea and attempted to pass it off as a sneeze.

“Excuse me,” he said, taking a breath to keep a calm face, “Just a little sneeze. We meant, like a regular lion. No man-face, no scorpion tail, just normal fur. We figured we’d be less likely to die if we got mauled by a beast with just fur, than if we got stung by a creature whose stings cause death.” He giggled a bit, and Hagrid chuckled.

“That’s understandable.” He took a swig iof his drink; whether it was tea or something alcoholic, it was unclear. “Though to calm a manticore, all yeh really have to do is feed ‘em some Calming Draught hidden in their meal.”

“Would that work for lions, too?” James asked, not-so-subtly. The half-giant shrugged.

“Don’t see why not. Works with most creatures, lions shouldn’t be any different.” Sirius and James nodded and bolted out of their chairs.

“Thanks, sir!” James said. They ran out of the hut and to the library.

“All we need to do is find a lion, now,” Sirius whispered excitedly as they went on their way. James nodded, equally excited.

-

“Uh-oh. Someone’s jealous.”

Marlene jumped as Mary poked her with a quill. She hadn’t realized she’d been staring. The other girl smiled at her.

“Why would I be jealous?” Marlene asked. “I’m studying with my friends.” Mary giggled.

“It’s okay,” she said. She leaned in closer to Marlene and Lily. “I think Frank’s absolutely _dashing_ , too.”

‘Oh,’ Marlene thought. She had forgotten that people would assume she liked boys. “You got me.” She grinned, albeit not sincerely. “I may have a teensy crush on Frank.” Lily looked at her funny, but Marlene kicked her and made a zipping motion in front of her mouth. The redhead nodded.

“Don’t we all,” she said, much more sincerely than Marlene had done. “What’s the unlocking charm?”

“Alohomora,” Mary answered quickly. They were quizzing each other to study for the soon-to-come exams.

“Wow.” Marlene laughed. “I need to focus.” She turned her attention to her paper, instead of the blossoming romance between Bonnie and Frank. Judging from Mary’s comment when she had jokingly referred to Remus and Sirius as a couple, Marlene decided Mary did NOT need to know she fancied Bonnie, rather than Frank.

-

Frank and Bonnie and Marlene, Mary and Lily might have been in the library, but that didn’t mean others weren’t studying also. In the Gryffindor common room, Gideon and Fabian were timing each other on essays.

“OWLs are next year,” Gideon reminded his brother. “We need to be extra prepared this year _and_ the next.”

“I know,” Fabian growled, annoyed at Gideon’s constant reminders. Usually he was the goofier one, but exams clearly got to everyone.

“Time.” Fabian nodded, putting his quill down.

“Two feet,” he said, looking at the parchment, not feeling that bad. “Tell me how I did and then it’s your turn.”

“Got it.” Gideon nodded and grabbed the book they were using, _Key Aspects of an Outstanding Essay_ , to check his twin’s work.

Peter, sitting a few tables away, was desperately trying to turn his match into a needle.

“Why can’t I do it?” he sighed, putting his head down on the table.

“Well, you’re a whiz at the ‘Alohomora’ spell,” said Maya, who was sitting across from him.

“Ugh. Don’t remind me.” He turned around. “Hey! Here comes Remus!” He waved the other boy over. “He’ll be a great help.” Maya subconsciously ran her fingers through her hair before smiling and nodding. Remus came to sit down with them.

“What’s going on?” he asked. Peter put his hands together in a begging motion.

“Please help me with Transfiguration,” he pleaded. “ _Please_.” Remus laughed.

“Okay.” Maya noticed Ember entering, and stood up.

“I’m going to go sit with Ember,” she said. “I’d invite him to sit with us, but he kinda hates you guys.” The boys laughed.

“We know,” Peter responded. He turned back to his friend. “Educate me, Professor Lupin.”

-

It was well past midnight, and the only two people in the Gryffindor common room were James and Sirius.

“Are we clear?” Sirius asked.

“Mm-hmm,” James nodded. He pulled a cauldron full of supplies out from under the table, where it was hidden by his invisibility cloak.

“Good.” Sirius reached into his pocket and pulled out some Floo powder. He dropped it into the fireplace and announced his cousin’s address. “1722 Magnolia Drive!” When the fireplace glowed green, he stuck his head in, wincing at the odd sensation.

“That’s disgusting,” he muttered. He looked around the empty living room in front of him. “Hello?” The sound of a glass dropping in another room was audible. The next thing he knew, a wand was right in front of his face. His cousin lowered the wand and sighed.

“Oh,” she said. “It’s you. I thought you were some intruder. Like my sister.” Sirius laughed.

“Nah, she’s off trying to shag ‘The Dark Lord.’” He made his voice breathy as an imitation of Bellatrix, and Andromeda laughed.

“Where’d you get that mouth?” she asked.

“One of my friends taught me.” He grinned proudly, and she rolled her eyes.

“What do you need?” She waved her wand and a glass of water came flying toward her. She caught it and took a sip. “I was getting some water when I heard you.”

“Well,” Sirius said, grinning, “I was wondering if you know where I could get a lion.”

“A _lion_? An actual lion?”

“Yep.”

“Um...” She thought for a second, before a proverbial lightbulb went off in her head. “Oh! I mean, I’m not sure how you’d get it, but there _is_ a zoo Ted took me to a while ago that had both magical and non-magical creatures. They might have lions.”

“Cool! What’s it called?”

Andromeda scrunched up her face in concentration again. “I believe it’s called Menagerie Bridge. Supposed to be a bridge between Muggle and magical worlds.”

“Okay.” Sirius smiled. “Thank you!”

“No problem.” She smiled back. “How are you?”

“Good. Been causing problems everywhere.”

“I wouldn’t expect any less.”

“How’re you?” She shrugged.

“Well,” she said, “In case you didn’t already figure it out, I’m pretty sure Bella’s on the hunt for me in her free time. But one of Ted’s coworkers offered to be a Secret-Keeper for us, so we’re safe, touch wood.”

“Good. What does he do?”

“He’s a Healer as well.”

“Fabulous. I’d love to meet him sometime soon.” Andromeda smiled sneakily.

“Think you and your brother can sneak over sometime during holiday?” she asked. Sirius grinned.

“I’ll try,” he said. “Thanks for your help.” She nodded, and he pulled his head back out of the fireplace, sputtering and spitting out some ashes.

“You know,” James said from his table, “I’ve seen that so many times, but it’s still weird to only see someone’s arse while their head’s stuck in a fireplace.” Sirius walked over and smacked him with a roll of parchment.

“Bugger off,” he laughed. He eyed the cloak. “Can I borrow your cloak? I need to get to the Owlery to write a letter.” James nodded.

“Knock yourself out. For the lion, I assume?” His friend nodded, and they both giggled.

“Wait,” Sirius said, taking the cloak. James looked up. “Think Lupin’ll let us use one of his jumpers?” James snorted.

“Use your own, you prat.”

“I’ll just use yours.” He giggled and James stuck his tongue out.

“Screw you.” They both laughed, but quieted when Sirius donned the cloak and left the room.

-

Slytherins were known to be ambitious, so it was no surprise many of them were studying early in the morning. A few of the first years were at one table, reading up on various topics.

“ _A Beginners’ Guide to Transfiguration_?” Beth asked Hubert. He nodded, and Natalia Lewis snorted.

“Why study for Herbology?” she laughed, gesturing to Beth’s book. “That’s for wusses.”

“It’s very useful,” Beth countered. “I need to study literally _everything else_ , though.” Jeff Freise held up his copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade One_.

“Here,” he said, smiling. “I can quiz you.” Beth sighed in relief.

“Thanks.” She looked over to where Amelia was sitting. “Hey, Dreighton! Wanna study?” In response, the girl raised one of her middle fingers. Beth shrugged. “Worth a shot.”

“You’d have more of a shot trying to get the other boys to join us,” Natalia chuckled. Jeff shook his head.

“No, she wouldn’t,” he said. “Snape only talks to people he seems worthy, which, for some reason includes that Muggle-born in Gryffindor.”

“But he and the other two _hate_ Muggle-borns,” Beth said, confused. Jeff shrugged.

“Don’t ask me why. I mean, I never would have guessed she was from a Muggle family if someone hadn’t told me.” Natalia nodded.

“She _is_ really good. Though I’ve met other talented ones,” she added. “The world works in strange ways.” The others expressed their agreement.

The boys in question, Snape, Mulciber and Avery, were also studying, though their studying mainly consisted of Dark Arts material.

“Where’d you get this textbook, Snape?” Mulciber asked. “It’s really rare. My father hasn’t even managed to get a copy of it, and you _know_ he’s in circles with -“ he lowered his voice - “Death Eaters.” Avery nodded in awe, and Snape shrugged.

“Nicked it from the Restricted Section,” he said.

“Can’t believe it,” Avery gasped. “Did you really take a page from _Potter’s_ book?”

“No!” Snape waved his hands defensively and shook his head. “I was just really interested. And it’s not like I did a dumb prank as a distraction. I just waited until Pince was gone and got it.” He smirked. “You know Potter and his boys. They can’t be sneaky if their life depended on it.”

“Obviously,” Mulciber cackled. “They walk around and Lupin just _screams_ dirt-poor.” He laughed, along with Avery and Snape, though Snape’s eyes betrayed his discomfort. Thankfully, the other two boys weren’t looking at his eyes.

“What are we laughing about, boys?” Malfoy asked, walking up to their table. He eyed the book they were studying and expressed his approval. “Good choice of study.” Macnair, from behind him, nodded rapidly.

“Yeah, good choice,” he said.

“Stop repeating me, Macnair,” Malfoy sighed. The boy in question nodded. Malfoy looked over his shoulder, seeing Narcissa standing over a table with Dorcas and Eleanor. “What’s she doing over _there_?”

The answer to the question was that Eleanor had complimented Narcissa’s jewelry.

“Why, thank you,” the older witch smirked. “My cousin got it for me.”

“Why?” Dorcas snickered. “Blackmail?”

“Actually,” Narcissa said, “Yes.” Eleanor shrugged.

“Still a nice necklace.”

“Yeah,” Dorcas agreed. “If I wore jewelry, I’d want it.”

“You should wear some.” Narcissa smiled, actually genuine. “You would look nice in it.” She turned and left, leaving the other two girls to stare at her retreating figure in awe.

“Was she... actually _nice_?” Eleanor whispered. Dorcas nodded.

“I think so.” She made a face to convey her shock. “Sometimes I think she’s hit with a desire to not be such an arse.”

“Weird,” Eleanor said.

“I know.”

-

While the first year Gryffindors were in Transfiguration class, some students were nudging each other and giggling.

“Look,” Marlene whispered to Mary, while Professor McGonagall was lecturing.

“What?” the other girl asked, and Marlene pointed to James and Sirius, who were fast asleep. McGonagall evidently noticed, because she cleared her throat.

“Mr. Black, Mr. Potter?” she said loudly. Sirius shot up.

“Yes, Professor?” His classmates laughed.

“I encourage you to pay attention to this lecture, unless you want to fail your exam.” The class busted out laughing.

“We gotta study,” Sirius whispered to James. “Tonight, with lots of caffeine.” James nodded. “I can’t fail. What if they send me back home and don’t let me come back?” James patted his friend on the back.

“It’ll be okay,” he whispered back. “Don’t worry. You can come to my house.” He grinned. “Though it would be funny to pass with flying colors, when everyone thinks we’re going to sleep through the review.” They both giggled again, prompting McGonagall to sharply say, “Boys?”

-

“Oh,” Sirius said that night, “Lion comes tomorrow afternoon. During History of Magic.”

“So we just have to study some of that tonight, too,” James smiled. Boley the house-elf ran up to them with a large pitcher and a platter.

“Tea and cakes for you, sirs!” he squeaked.

“Boley, you are my favorite person in the universe,” Sirius gushed as he took the platter. James said a “Thank you,” also.

“Boley is not a person, sir!” the elf exclaimed. “Boley is a house-elf, ready to serve those in need.”

“My apologies,” Sirius said. The elf nodded, and the door opened. “Shite.”

Instead of a professor, however, like James and Sirius expected, Alice entered.

“May I please get some caffeine?” she asked Holly, who saluted and ran off to get some. Alice looked at the boys. “Late night studying?” she asked. They nodded.

“We think it’d be funny if people didn’t think we studied and then we came up with excellent marks,” James explained.

“Oh.” Alice smiled sheepishly. “I’m just up so late because I procrastinated studying.” The boys giggled and she laughed along, cheeks a little pink. “I may be smart,” she said, “But sometimes I feel more motivated to read an entire cookbook than study something relevant. And then I end up staying up really late to finish everything.” Before the boys could comment, Holly raced back to Alice.

“A large cup of coffee, with three creams, a shot of espresso, whipped topping, caramel sauce, and rainbow sprinkles, just as Miss Alice likes!” she squealed, handing the girl the cup.

“Thank you, Holly,” Alice smiled. “You’re the best.” Holly grabbed her ears and squeaked in delight.

“‘Tis an honor, Miss, an honor!” she exclaimed. Alice nodded and left. James and Sirius followed, and they went their separate ways.

-

“They’re plotting something,” Snape said to Mulciber and Avery the next morning. He tilted his head toward James and Sirius, who were giggling like mad.

“Something Dark?” Lucius asked from across from the boys. Narcissa scoffed.

“Please,” she sighed. “It’s Sirius and Potter. The darkest thing they know is the color red.” Lucius looked at her in confusion.

“That’s not dark at all?”

“Exactly.”

-

A loud shriek came from inside the Gryffindor common room. Professor McGonagall, who was walking by the portrait, figured she needed to investigate.

“Password?” the Fat Lady asked.

“I’m Head of the Gryffindor House,” the proessor snapped.

“Oh, all right.” The portrait swung open, and in the center of the room, was a fully grown lion, wearing a red jumper. A record player was playing music nearby.

“What is this?” she asked. James and Sirius popped out from behind the lion, and she sighed. “Of course it’s you two.”

“This,” Sirius announced, gesturing to the record player, “Is The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens.” He nodded triumphantly, and his professor facepalmed.

“The _lion_ , Mr. Black. The _fully-grown, live, lion_.”

“Oh.” He giggled and James took over.

“We were bored while everyone else was studying,” he explained, “So Sirius decided we should get a lion and put it in a sweater. Gryffindor pride, you know.”

“And because Remus was wearing a sweater when we came up with the idea,” Sirius added. “So, why not?”

“So Sirius found a magical zoo that had a lion,” James continued, “And I made a Calming Draught for the lion to calm down. Then Sirius enlarged one of his sweaters -“

“After charming it red, mind you. It was originally green.” He made a face. “My mother got it for me.” James nodded solemnly.

“So then we put it on the lion and changed the size to fit him, and then set the music to play.” The boys nodded triumphantly, and the music changed to ‘Born to Be Wild’ by Steppenwolf. McGonagall looked at the record player.

“And how is this working, in a place so saturated with magic?” she asked.

“My cousin Andromeda’s handiwork,” Sirius answered proudly. “She helped me get it to work in a place filled with magic, like my house.” He grinned, and McGonagall sighed.

“You know,” she said, “If you two ever mature enough to use your magic for something other than goofing off, you will both end up doing great things.” The boys grinned at each other. “Now get the lion out of the sweater and send him back to wherever you got him from.”

-

The next day, after the first years had taken their Potions and Transfiguration exams, McGonagall and Slughorn were sitting in the staff room.

“I’m confused,” the Potions professor said. “Both Potter and Black got excellent marks on my exam, yet I never saw them study. Do you reckon they cheated?”

“You would think that,” McGonagall replied, sighing, “But after what I witnessed from them yesterday, I can guarantee you they are more than capable of achieving such marks on any exam.” Slughorn sat on the edge of his chair, looking amused.

“Do elaborate,” he said.


	15. Testing, Testing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys decide to pull of a final prank for the year; Sirius confronts Remus about his injuries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: All You Need is Love by The Beatles
> 
> CW: Minor mentions of abuse
> 
> A little bit of baby Wolfstar as well :)

“ _Finally_ ,” Sirius sighed as he and his friends left the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. “We’re _done_.” James nodded.

“I’m so glad,” he said. He looked over his shoulder. “I’m going to go ask Evans how her exam went.” He turned around and started walking off.

“I’m going to watch and laugh at him when she repeatedly rolls her eyes,” Peter told the other two. They nodded and he scurried off to catch James. Sirius slung an arm around Remus’ shoulder.

“How was your exam?” he asked. “Have a howling good time?” Remus jumped.

“Did I have a _what_?” he squeaked.

“A ‘howling good time.’ You know, since you’re a nerd and you like schoolwork. Don’t people say that?” Remus shook his head very quickly.

“No, no they don’t.” Before their conversation could progress, James came back to them, smiling.

“Wow,” Remus smirked. “You look way too happy to have been talking to Lily. What happened?”

“Well, I didn’t get to talk to her because she was talking to Snivellus,” James explained, “But I heard what she said. She said, ‘I’m surprised we’re not required to take maths and language exams.’ And I had this idea...”

“Our final prank of the year!” Sirius finished for him. Remus looked at the two skeptically.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “What if someone _actually_ thinks it’s real?”

“Aw, come on, Remus,” James chided. “It’ll be fun. We _do_ want to leave with a bang.”

Remus thought for a second, and then he grinned. He said, “Well, we have a week before exam results to pass the time.”

The boys entered the Great Hall, laughing raucously. Narcissa, who liked to keep an eye on Sirius, both to judge him and because she sometimes, very rarely, felt sorry for him, noticed.

“They’re up to something,” she whispered to Gigi Prince, who was next to her. Gigi sighed.

“Tell it to Snape,” she replied. “He always thinks they’re up to something, too.”

-

“Peter,” Sirius said a few days later, while the group was in the library, “Your artistic skills are brilliant.” The other boy blushed.

“Well...” He trailed off. “Thanks?” Sirius nodded. “I’ll go get some more snacks while you guys get to copying the papers.” He stood up to leave, and the other three nodded.

“The spell’s ‘Geminio’, right?” James asked, munching on a pumpkin cake and balancing his chair on two legs.

“Correct,” Remus said, while Sirius said, “Pass me one of those, won’t you, mate?” In response, James chucked a spare cake at him, hitting him square in the face. Both James and Remus busted out laughing, causing Madam Pince to glare at them.

“Is that food in my library?” she hissed. James hid his snack, while Sirius casted a quick cleaning spell on his face and stood up.

“No ma’am,” he said, giving her a charming smile. “We’re just working on an extracurricular project. Any mess is from our colored ink, which we will clean up.” The librarian nodded.

“Okay,” she sniffed, and turned back to whatever book she was reading.

“Bloody charming, aren’t you?” Remus snickered. He smirked and James mock-gasped.

“Lupin!” he hissed, not serious. “Are you trying to steal my man?” He and Sirius started giggling.

“You know,” Remus said, rolling his eyes, “We need to do the copying spell.” The boys nodded in agreement, before grabbing their wands and whispering, “ _Geminio_ ,” to the three fliers they had made. After a few minutes, James sat back and Remus and Sirius followed.

“Think forty’s enough?” he asked the other two. Remus shrugged.

“Should be.” Sirius nodded in agreement. “But how are we going to get them to the right places?” Sirius smiled smugly.

“This is where my idea comes in,” he said proudly. “James is going to hide under his cloak at each house tower entrance to find the password, then we will go in late at night and put our fliers up. I have some extra Slytherin ties from my stupid mother that we can charm blue and yellow to not look suspicious when we enter.” James nodded and finished up the plan:

“And then we’ll put a few up near the Great Hall, in case anyone didn’t see them in the common room.”

“Perfect.” Sirius grinned, and Remus nodded along.

A sharp voice from behind them said, “ _Alarte Ascendare_!” James was thrown up into the air and he hit a bookshelf on the way down, knocking books over. Madam Pince’s voice could be heard muttering about young students and their lack of respect for the library. Thinking quick, Sirius levitated their snacks and sent them toward Severus, who had cast the spell.

“ _What_ is going on here?” the librarian asked, stepping into view. Her eyes narrowed as she registered the food in Snape’s hand before he did. “No food in the library!” She charmed a few books to chase him out of the library, while James, Sirius and Remus looked on, trying hard not to laugh.

-

“Wow,” Alice muttered to herself. “Felix didn’t run off last night.” Usually he would hop around, though she thought she had trained him well enough not to bother the other girls. She picked him up from his little bed and headed down to the common room after getting dressed.

Some sort of commotion was occurring. A group of students was gathered around the notice board. Curious, Alice inched up to see what was happening.

“What’s going on?” she asked. Tobias Garrett, a first year, looked at her with some confidence.

“Look!” he said. She looked, and there was a flier on the board that said: ‘Final Exam - Students must report to their Head of House to take their maths and English exams. Today, 1:00.’ Tobias nodded excitedly. “I’m ready! My sisters and I study Muggle topics over summer, since, you know, we’re half-bloods...” He trailed off, and Alice inspected the paper. Why wasn’t it a thing before?

“Are we sure it’s legit?” she asked the group.

“I don’t see why it would be,” said Janna Denson, a fourth year. “Never happened since I’ve been here.”

“Would prefects know more about it?” asked Maria, Tobias’ older sister.

“We didn’t hear anything.” Katie Dillings, a sixth year prefect, shook her head as she spoke. “I’ll ask Professor Flitwick.”

-

In the Gryffindor Tower, it was a similar story. The Prewett twins, up early, were the first to notice the sign up on the board, and they reacted accordingly.

“FRANKIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!”

Evidently hearing them, Frank ran into the common room from the dorm, his tie half-on.

“What is it?” he asked, a bit out of breath. Gideon pointed to the flier, tilting his head to question whether his friend knew anything about it. Frank shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“I mean,” Fabian cut in, “It may be a new thing. A surprise.”

“And that’s not a _bad_ thing?” Frank asked. Fabian frowned.

“You’re right.” He looked at the board. “If it’s a surprise, it likely won’t be on any particularly difficult.” The other two nodded.

“I suppose that makes sense,” Gideon mused. Frank nodded in agreement as the first year girls entered the room.

“Why were you screaming, whoever it was?” Marlene asked. They pointed to the notice.

“But we think -“ Gideon said, but stopped when Marlene skipped off toward the portrait.

“What do you think?” Letitia asked apprehensively.

“We think it will be fairly simple,” Fabian finished. The other four girls nodded in agreement.

“I actually thought they might do something like this,” mused Lily. Mary nudged her and grinned, doing the same to Maya.

“I think _we’re_ prepared,” she said, referring to the fact that the three of them were not of magical parentage. “Where’d Marlene go?” Before her question was answered, more students filed into the room, gathering at the notice board.

“What’s going on?” asked Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Head Boy.

“There’s supposedly another test,” Ember said over the noise, which included the squeaking of his pet miniature micropig, Franco. Kingsley shook his head.

“It’s highly doubtful that they would do this with such short notice,” he remarked. “I’d suggest for everyone...” He cleared his throat to get the attention of the others. “I’d suggest everyone be prepared to take a test, but not think too much of it. In my years here, this has never happened, so it may just be a practical joke.”

-

Marlene had gone to find Dorcas, and they were discussing the potential test. Sitting in a hallway, they noticed Bonnie escorting some crying first and second years to the hospital wing. The older girl smiled at them, but was clearly busy and did not stop to talk.

“I’m definitely saying Potter’s behind it,” Snape was saying, focusing on talking to Avery and Mulciber instead of where he was going, and as a result, nearly ran into Bonnie.

“Who did you say was behind it?” she inquired.

“Potter,” Severus snarled. “And Black and Lupin and Pettigrew.”

Bonnie smiled. “Thank you. I’ll be sure to talk to them.” She dropped the upset kids off at the hospital wing, and went to find the boys.

She found them in the Great Hall, laughing more than usual.

“The ‘FRANKIE’ got me,” Sirius was saying, laughing. James nodded.

“Yeah. Did you see Evans found it amusing?” he asked smugly.

“I think Kingsley made sure everyone knew it was a joke, though,” said Remus. “So that’s good.”

“Nice to know there’s _one_ decent person,” Bonnie said from behind them. “Can I see you four in the hall?” They nodded and got up to follow her. As soon as they got into the hallway, she smacked all four of them.

“Ow!” James exclaimed. “What was that for?” He looked at the Hufflepuff expectantly, rubbing his face.

“Do you know,” Bonnie said, crossing her arms, “How many students I had to usher to the hospital wing because they were freaking out? _Six_. Because they thought your _joke_ was real. I don’t care what you do in your free time, but do _not_ bring innocent students into it for your own enjoyment.” She glared at them. “Now go to the office and turn yourselves in. It’s at the gargoyle. The password’s ‘Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans’. I’ll be watching.”

Under her withering glare, the boys went to Dumbledore’s office. Dumbledore looked up at them from his desk.

“Good morning,” he said mildly. “How may I help you?” Bonnie’s glare was clearly still in the boys’ minds, because they confessed at that moment. Dumbledore nodded.

“I suppose you wanted to leave with a ‘bang?’” he asked. The boys nodded, and he chuckled. “There’s no harm in having a little fun, boys, but you must ensure it doesn’t hurt others. I hear that some students were unaware that your joke was in fact just that: a joke. And that is not what I want at this school. I will let you off a little easier than normal, as a warning. I don’t want to hear of you causing undue stress to your fellow students again. I _will_ be taking fifteen points from Gryffindor from each of you due to your prank’s effect on other kids. Understand?”

The boys nodded, slightly ashamed.

Outside of the office, where the points for each house were displayed, Fabian was doing one final check to see the rankings. As soon as he saw the sixty-point drop in Gryffindor’s points, he sighed.

“I give up,” he muttered. “I give up.”

-

“We beat you!” Alice sang, at the end of the week on the train ride home. Dorcas grinned back.

“Congratulations!” she said. “But, you know, we both beat _them_.” She gestured to the three Gryffindor girls who were in their compartment as well. Lily snarled.

“ _You_ try being in the same house as Potter and his buddies,” she snapped. “We were _second place_ and they had to ruin it all!”

“I know,” Mary nodded. “I mean, they’re not the nicest people at all.”

“Nope,” said Marlene, and they all burst into laughter.

In the compartment next to them, Frank and Bonnie were sitting across from Gideon and Fabian.

“Is it bad that I’m glad you guys lost a bunch of points?” Bonnie asked. “Because at least the Hufflepuffs got to come in third.” Frank nodded.

“That is true,” he said. “I miss Peeves. If he comes back, I hope _he_ does the mischief instead of students that could cost us points.”

“Whatever happened to Peeves?” Fabian asked. Bonnie laughed.

“I heard Professor Marsh actually convinced him to stay in a few rooms. I have no idea how, but it must have been difficult.” She sighed. “I’m going to miss her.”

“She’s leaving?” Gideon asked. Bonnie nodded.

“She said she was only teaching for a year as a favor to Dumbledore.”

“Ah.”

“Besides, we always get a new Defense teacher every year. I just hope the next one’s as good as Marsh.” The three boys nodded in agreement.

-

Sirius was walking back from the restroom when he passed by the compartment holding the group of Slytherins who had made fun of him. He shuddered, partly because he didn’t like them, but also because Narcissa and Lucius were all over each other. (Though he _did_ hear Avery saying, “Can you guys stop snogging? We’re trying to judge people.”)

He passed by and reached the compartment he had gotten with James, Remus and Peter. Remembering what he just saw, he figured he should talk to Remus.

“Rem?” he said, poking his head into the carriage. The boy looked up. “Can we talk?” Remus nodded and got up. He shut the door behind him.

“What is it?” he asked. Sirius looked him in the eye.

“Look,” he said. “I know you kept leaving to visit your mother, since she was sick, but you kept coming back looking all beat up.” He noticed his friend looked a little nauseous, but he continued. “And the ‘fell out of a tree’ excuse got old really quickly.”

“Did you talk to the others about this?” Sirius shook his head and Remus let out a sigh of relief.

“But I’ve seen the signs,” he continued. “You’ve been getting hurt.”

Remus hung his head. “I deserve it,” he whispered.

“No!” Sirius practically yelled, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder. He pulled off his left glove. “You’re no different from me!” He waved his marked-up hand in the other boy’s face. “And would you say I deserve _this_? Or being cursed and hexed if I step out of line?” Remus shook his head and Sirius let go of him. “Then neither do you.”

“It’s different.”

“How?” Sirius continued on his speech, despite the fact that Remus was sheet-white. “You leave to visit your parents every month, and you come back all bruised and scratched. You think I’ll let you spend a _summer_ there? You’re my friend! I won’t!” Remus noticed the tears on his friend’s face and said something in an attempt to calm him down.

“I don’t go home every month.” Sirius froze.

“What?”

“I don’t go home every month.” Remus said a silent prayer of thanks to whatever higher power there was, because Sirius had very clearly not connected the dots.

“Where do you go, then?” he asked. The waves of fear came back.

“I can’t tell you.” Remus smiled weakly. “But I’m okay at my parents’ house. All right? I’ll try to invite you all over.” Sirius nodded. “Let’s go back inside.”

They went back into the compartment, where Remus’ music was playing ‘All You Need Is Love’. Sirius nodded his head to the music as he sat down next to James.

“I like it,” he remarked. “What is it?”

“ _What_?” Remus gasped. “You know The Rolling Stones and Elvis but you don’t know _The Beatles_?” The other boy tossed his arms up in defense.

“I’m sorry!” he cried. “Andy gave me a record of ‘her favorites’! I guess she didn’t like the Beatles!” Remus gasped again.

“You can’t not like the Beatles!”

Peter leaned over to James and asked, “Do you know what’s going on?” James shook his head and then looked at the wall, getting an idea.

“Guys!” he said suddenly. The two quarreling boys looked up, as well as Peter. “This was the compartment we were in on the way here! Let’s make it ours!”

“How?” asked Peter. James whipped out his wand, and cast a simple spell that allowed him to trace his initials onto the wall. He nodded at the other boys, and they followed suit. After a long time of laughter and music, he turned to the others again.

“Well, boys,” he said, “Think we got up to enough mischief this year?” Sirius grinned.

“I think we managed to,” he replied. Peter let out a laugh, followed by James, and soon, all four boys were back to laughing uncontrollably.

-

Sirius lay flat on his back in his bed. He’d only been home for a day, and it sucked. So he found himself thinking about his friends, especially Remus.

“I’m worried about him,” he told his owl, who was likely not listening. “What if he’s getting hurt by his family, and he’s going to come back like he does every month?” Snow White hooted in response. “But he said he didn’t go home every month. Then what does he do?”

Suddenly, Sirius went back to his friend’s scars, and how he left every month at a certain time, and how he freaked out at the term ‘howling good time.’

Sirius bolted up into sitting position, as he made a realization.

“HOLY MOTHERF-“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s a wrap! Thank you to anyone who viewed this. I really enjoyed writing it and am working on two new projects as well. Check out my tumblr @evitoxytrash


End file.
